DC's Legends of Hogwarts
by TakethisEll
Summary: Hogwarts AU. Follows the Legends through their 7th year of Hogwarts as they focus on Quidditch, classes, pranks, romance, and general shenanigans. AvaLance, DarhkAtom, Zarlie, SteelVixen with referenced previous Rory/Snart and implied Gary/Constantine Rated M for language and maybe future adult content
1. Chapter 1

So this story is a Hogwarts AU for the Legends of Tomorrow. The Wizarding War never happened, but some of the sentiments from post-war exist. For instance, there is no animosity over blood status, and there is no animosity against Slytherins anymore.

Additionally, while Houses and such still exist, the Quidditch teams are intramural. There are 8 teams, and each team has to have at least one member from every house. The teams are the Legends (duh), the Bureau (like the Time Bureau), the Fugitives (like the magical fugitives), the Savage (as in Vandal Savage), the Legion (like the Legion of Doom), Mallus (duh), Salvation (as in Salvation, Dakota), and the Beebos (Beebo wuv you).

Sara is the Legends captain, Rip is the Bureau captain, Charlie is Amaya's identical twin and the captain of the Fugitives team. Damien Darhk is Nora Darhk's older brother, not her father, and Damien is the captain of the Mallus team. Nora doesn't play Quidditch. Jonah Hex is the captain of the Salvation team, and Leif Erikson's sister Freydis is the captain of the Beebos. Eobard Thawne is the younger brother of Eddie Thawne, and the captain of the Legion team. Oh, and Thea Queen goes to Ilvermorny with Roy Harper.

Starts off in their 6th year to introduce everyone, then I'm gonna time jump to the beginning of 7th year.

Pairings are mainly AvaLance, with some DarhkAtom and Zarlie and Nate/Amaya, with some mentions of previous Snart/Rory and implied Gary/Constantine.

* * *

_Alright Lance, it's the last Quidditch game of the season, we're only down by 20. That's only two goals. You just gotta get the ball from Rip, that won't be a problem, right?_ Sara thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes at Rip Hunter, who was approaching from across the field. Sara leaned forward on her broom, shooting forward towards the other player, who had the quaffle tucked under his arm protectively.

Out of the corner of Sara's eye, she spotted her friend and teammate, Mick Rory, prepping his Beater's bat, glaring intensely at Hunter, same as Sara. Sara was soon flanked by the other Chasers on the team, her friends Zari and Nate. Zari and Sara shared a look, and Zari nodded, before dashing forward to cut off Hunter. While he was distracted, Nate came around the back, startling Hunter and making him drop the quaffle, which was caught from below by Sara. Sara raced towards the opposite end of the field, ducking under the other team's Chasers and performing a feint to get past the Keeper, before scoring. A few minutes after, her team's Seeker caught the snitch, leading to them winning by 140 points, which put them at winning the Quidditch Cup.

Sara and her teammates made a victory lap around the field, whooping and cheering along with the crowd. She landed, and the whole team came in for a hug - well, save for Mick, who preferred to stand back with his arms crossed, though he did have an unmistakably proud grin on his face.

All of Sara's friends were on the Legends Quidditch team. Team Captain Sara Lance was a Gryffindor, as well as fellow Chaser Nate Heywood. Mick Rory, as well as Chaser Zari Tomaz and fellow Beater John Constantine, were all Slytherins. Amaya Jiwe was the team's resident Hufflepuff, and her identical twin sister, Charlie Jiwe, was a Slytherin beater and the captain of the Fugitives team. Last but not least left the Legends' Seeker, Ray Palmer, a devoted and clever Ravenclaw.

"Captains, please shake hands!" Madame Hooch called over the roar of the crowd's cheering.

Sara strode to the middle of the field, her blue Quidditch robes flapping in the wind as she approached the Bureau's Captain, Rip Hunter. He wore his team's charcoal grey robes, and was flanked by two of his players; his seeker, Gary Green, and his star chaser, Ava Sharpe. As Sara approached, Ava's ice blue gaze sharpened as she glared at Sara.

Sara and Ava had been rivals since day one. Ava had transferred from Beauxbatons in their fourth year. Sara had heard some rumors that she'd gotten into a fight with her family, and had moved in with a distant relative and transferred to Hogwarts. Sara didn't know if it was true, as the Hogwarts rumor mill often exaggerated and twisted details around. Sara didn't really care about her background; that wasn't a reason to dislike someone. No, Sara's issues with Ava Sharpe were more competition-based. Ava was a Ravenclaw, and was a Prefect. Sara wasn't a prefect (though Ray and Amaya were), and was prone to pulling pranks and sneaking out, and it was almost _always_ Ava who caught her and her friends. It was infuriating. Some of the other prefects, like Sara's sister Laurel, Sara could convince to look the other way. After all, it wasn't like she was doing anything dangerous. Usually she could get away with a small point deduction from Gryffindor and move one. No such luck with Ava though; she always gave Sara detention. And it wasn't just after-hours, either. It seemed to Sara that if she so much as pulled her wand out in the corridor, Ava would appear with the word "detention" shooting quick and sharp as a bullet from her mouth. It also didn't help that Sara and Ava were in competition for top of the class, which increased the tension between them. And Quidditch was just the cherry on top, as it was Ava's first season, and she'd immediately joined the Bureau.

Sara reached the Bureau team and took Rip's extended hand with a slight smile. Rip had once been the captain of the Legends team, and had actually recruited Sara, Mick, and Ray to the team. However, after the fourth year season, he left the Legends to join the Bureau, leaving Sara as captain in his stead. Sara understood why he left; he just didn't really fit in with her and her friends, who became the majority of the team in fourth year, after Kendra and Carter graduated and Zari and Amaya joined. Rip was then replaced by Nate Heywood. The year later, after the fifth year season, Mick's partner and fellow beater, Leonard Snart, transferred to Durmstrang. He was then replaced with John Constantine, which, along with backup chaser Jefferson Jackson, AKA Jax, formed the current Legends team.

Rip gave Sara a nod, which she returned, as they broke the handshake and turned to the locker rooms. Once Sara and her team were clean and left the locker room, they were bombarded by their friends.

Charlie practically tackled Amaya, whose hand was intertwined with Nate's, almost knocking all three of them over. "Well done, you bloody beautiful bastards! I mean, the Fugitives should've won the cup, but I'm just glad that someone took down the Bureau!" she laughed as she pulled back from hugging Amaya. "Oi, and the little ones wanted to give congrats!" Charlie stepped back and were replaced by Kuasa and Mari, who were in their second and first year, respectively, and were Charlie and Amaya's little sisters. Amaya let go of Nate to wrap them both in a big hug, while Nate turned to clap Ray on the back.

"Nice catch at the end there, bro. I saw Gary pull that Wronski Feint out there and I even fell for it!"

"Why exactly, were you watching the snitch?" Zari asked.

"It was when you pulled in front of Rip and I circled behind. I just caught a glimpse, jeez, Z," Nate replied defensively.

"You sure you weren't checking out your homeboy's ass?" Zari teased with a grin.

"Yeah, totally. Ray, you've got one hell of an ass," Nate replied sarcastically, as Ray beamed down at him.

Jax cracked up, and Zari leaned on his shoulder, before Zari's brother, Behrad (first year) ran up to her, giving her a bear hug.

Sara, meanwhile, was chatting with her sister about the game. Finals had just ended on Friday, so they'd be leaving on Sunday, which would be Laurel's last day at Hogwarts. She, along with her boyfriend Tommy Merlyn, their best friend Oliver Queen (who Sara had dated a looooong time ago), his girlfriend, Felicity Smoak, and their friend John Diggle, would all be graduating, and wouldn't be back at Hogwarts next year. Sara was kinda sad to see them go, but was also really excited to be the "big dogs", as her dad put it, meaning that she would be in the top year at Hogwarts.

"We gotta go, but we'll see you on the train!" Laurel told Sara, giving her one last, tight hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

Sara smiled as she watched her sister leave. She was about to turn back to her friends, but a movement in her peripheral caught her attention. Three people stood awkwardly, a little ways away, and somewhat nervously began to approach the Legends. As they got closer, Sara realized it was Ava Sharpe, Gary Green, and Nora Darhk.

"What d'you think they want?" Nate asked, coming up behind Sara.

"From the eyes Nora is giving Ray, I think I can guess what she wants," Zari replied, poking Ray in the ribs teasingly.

"What? No, I don't think so. Nora is just nice, I'm sure she's just coming to say congrats." Ray's voice took on a kind of nervous tremor as he awkwardly laughed.

"Then why is she only looking at you?" Zari countered.

"Because I'm the tallest?" Ray offered, unsure.

"Forget that, check out the look on Gar-bear's face!" Charlie exclaimed. "Either he's tripping, or he's thirsting for Constantine. And I doubt he's tripping. He's almost as much of a boy scout as Rayge here." She threw her arm on Ray's shoulder good-naturedly as Ray gave a light protest.

"Pipe down, luv, I'm sure the lad just wants an autograph or a photo with the greatest beater of all time," John said suavely as he swaggered forward. Mick grunted at his remark about being "the greatest beater of all time".

The group made it to them. Nora and Gary split from Ava to talk to Ray and John, respectively, as predicted. Surprisingly, Ava stopped in front of Sara.

"As much as it pains me to say this, you played a good game, Sharpe," Sara offered, sticking out her hand for a professional handshake.

"I've gotta say, Miss Lance, now that I've seen your team in action…" Ava began, "you're even worse than I imagined." Ava turned, completely ignoring Sara's offered hand, and grabbed Gary by the back of his robes as she dragged him away from Constantine.

Nora gave one last "You played a great game, Ray" before she also turned and followed her friends as they walked off the field. By this point, all of the Legends' friends and families had left, leaving just the team.

"Well, that happened," Zari offered.

Sara snorted humorlessly. "Fucking thank you, Z."


	2. Chapter 2

Summer seemed to go by in a blur for Sara. Laurel had moved out and started her job working on the Council of Magical Law, so Sara and her parents helped Laurel move into the apartment that she would be sharing with her boyfriend, Tommy Merlyn. It was a two bedroom, so there was a guest room that Sara stayed at almost every other weekend, in order to spend time with her sister before she went back to school. Sara and Laurel had been going to Hogwarts together for ages, and the last time they had been separated like this was when Sara was 10 and Laurel started off her first year. It was so long ago, Sara could hardly remember a time where her sister wasn't at school with her. So, to make up for future lost time, Sara came over for game night every other Friday and spent the night.

Game nights were a blast. All of Laurel's friends would come over; Oliver, Felicity, Diggle, even Thea and Roy, who were back from Ilvermorny over the summer. They would play games and talk and laugh (and drink, for those who were side-along apparating home), and it reminded Sara of her own friends. Sara's friends would all go over to Amaya and Charlie's on the weekends that Sara wasn't at Laurel's, and they would have their own hang-outs, all sleeping over Friday night. Mr. and Mrs. Jiwe were always working, as they were both Aurors and were constantly busy, which left Amaya and Charlie to look after their younger siblings; Esi, who would be a fifth year come September, and Kuasa and Mari. The three younger Jiwe sisters looked up to their eldest sisters and the rest of the Legends, so their parents were happy to let the Legends stay over on weekends, since they were so good with the girls (with the exception of Mick, but as long as Sara continued to keep him in line (as she was the only one who could), they didn't mind him either). Zari often brought over Behrad as well, who was Mari's age and a friends with her and Kuasa. These sleepovers consisted of games, food, movies that Sara and Jax and Zari and Ray brought over (Zari, Jax, and Ray were muggle-born, and Sara was a half-blood), butterbeers for all the Legends except Mick, who drank his own firewhiskey, and usually Quidditch in the yard. It had started a few years ago as a way to teach Esi to be a Keeper like Amaya. As they got older, Kuasa joined and started playing Beater like Charlie, Mari became a Seeker, and Behrad became a Chaser like his sister. They would split up into teams, which would change every time they played in order to be at least slightly fair for the younger kids.

The Legends loved these gatherings, as many of them were only children, and those who weren't didn't have nearly as big of a family as Amaya and Charlie did. It really felt like family for them, especially considering that some of them didn't have very good home lives. Mick was an orphan, after his house burnt down when he was younger. He'd been staying with Snart until he transferred, and had gotten his own place shortly after. It was kind of a dump, but he really only used it in the summers when he wasn't at Amaya and Charlie's. Zari and Behrad were also orphans, but they were living with their foster-dad, a cold man named Argus. That's why Zari brought Behrad with her to the Jiwes'; she didn't want to leave him alone with Argus. Nate's parents were both alive and well, but his father was always either emotionally or literally absent, and Nate couldn't stand the way his mother made excuses for Hank Heywood. He was at Amaya's much more often, especially since they'd started dating two years ago. Ray's father, David, had died of cancer a couple years prior, and his mother was always working. Ray's twin brother, Sydney, was always off with his own friends. Ray had always had issues with Sydney, and his friends were kind of bums, and Ray believed them to be bad influences on his brother, but Sydney wouldn't listen to Ray; he never listened. Ray's younger sister, Bryce, was eight, and Ray wanted to steer her in the right direction, but she didn't listen to him, either, as she looked up to Sydney more. Ray kind of shrugged it off and focused on helping his mom, Sandy, and hanging out with his friends when he needed an escape from his home life. He brought Bryce over a few times, but she didn't really get along well with the other children, as they were a few years older than her. Jax would come over a lot, too. He'd never known his father, and his mother was always working to provide for them. He'd also started a special internship with Professor Stein, the Transfiguration professor and head of Gryffindor at Hogwarts, over the summer. They were working on a specific kind of Transfiguration called Transmutation, which had some root in alchemy. Jax would talk about it with Ray animatedly, but the others would usually zone-out, as it wasn't something that interested them.

Summer was spent as such, and was spent quickly. Before Sara knew it, she was getting her supply list for school.

"Sara, sweetie, you've got mail!" Quentin Lance called upstairs from the kitchen, where he was feeding the family barn owl treats absentmindedly as he looked through the stack of letters that had been delivered. Most were from his work as an Auror, containing intel on suspects. However, there were two letters for Sara, one that was surprisingly heavy, that reminded Quentin of a few summers before, when Sara had gotten her Quidditch Captain badge.

"I'm getting ready, be down in a minute!" Sara called back. "Besides, it's probably just the supply list! Mum and I were gonna head to Diagon Alley after you went to work, anyway!"

Dinah came up behind Quentin, noticing the mail as she went through her own from the mailbox. She didn't understand why the wizards didn't just use a magical mailbox or something; certainly it must be easier and more reliable than owls, which is a strange form of animal labor at any rate, right? Even after marrying Quentin almost 20 years ago, she still didn't quite understand the magical community that her daughters were born into. She leaned her head on Quentin's shoulder and he gave her a peck on the temple as he began opening his own mail.

"Actually, honey, there's another letter here addressed to you!" Dinah called up.

"What?" Sara came bounding down the stairs.

She stopped in front of her mother, who handed her the letters. Quentin turned around. Sara opened the one she knew was her supply list first, confirmed that it was, in fact, the supply list, and handed it to Dinah. Dinah held it, but didn't look at it, instead continuing to watch Sara open the other letter.

Sara opened it, and a badge fell out. _HG_ was engraved in gold on the simple black badge. Sara was speechless, but her mind was racing. _No no no no no nononono noooo_, she thought. With the position of Head Girl would come new responsibilities, less time to focus on Quidditch or on her friends or on pranks. Plus, she knew that the Heads had to share a special dorm, and while the privacy would be good, she'd miss Gryffindor tower. Amaya and Zari would come over often and they'd sit on her bed in her dorm and eat snacks or all of the Legends plus Charlie would gather in the Gryffindor common room, since the Hufflepuff common room was always crowded, the Slytherins didn't trust anyone with the password, and the Ravenclaw door was _too fucking hard_ to get past, with its annoying riddles. The last time they tried to meet there, Mick had almost _incendio_-ed the door in frustration.

But _Head Girl_? Sara didn't want to spend her last year at Hogwarts being a hypocrite and calling students out for the same things that she herself has done a thousand times.

_Although…_ a little voice in her mind started, _You wouldn't have to sneak all your friends into Gryffindor Tower anymore, and you'd be able to bend more rules for better pranks, plus you don't really like your dormmates anyway… plus, you get a new dormmate who could be really cute… Maybe Gwen Pendragon, or Lindsey Carlisle, or Nyssa Al Ghul, or Alex Danvers - no, wait, Alex graduated - but still, lots of _opportunities_, if you know what I mean…_

_Of course I know what you mean, I'm you!_ Sara thought back at that voice. She had to admit, she had a point. She looked up at her parents, seeing the looks of pride on their faces. Not even Laurel, the golden girl of the Lance family, had been Head Girl (the Heads of her year were Oliver and Felicity). She put on a determined face. She _would_ make the best of this, and would come out stronger. Plus, this appointment would probably help her become an Auror after Hogwarts, so the extra effort would all be worth it.

So she swallowed and opened the letter in front of her.

_Dear Miss Lance,_ _08/20/2019_

_It is my duty and pleasure to inform you that you have been appointed Head Girl for the coming year at Hogwarts. You were not previously a Prefect, so I will outline your duties for you in a more detailed manner below:_

_You are in charge of making patrol schedules for the Prefects. You and the other Head Student will have to patrol together at least once per week, and must assign the other Prefects their days and patrol partner. You will also be in charge of reassigning patrols and partners should an incident occur where one or more of the patrolling Prefects are indisposed. Additionally, you will work alongside the Prefects and the other Head Student by maintaining order and upholding the rules at all times where you see some disturbance. I am sure you, Miss Lance, are familiar with the type of disturbances to which I am alluding. You will also be expected to assist students, especially underclassmen, who ask for your help or for advice. Oh, and you and the other Head Student are also responsible for planning the Yule Ball, to take place before the Winter Holidays._

_You will receive many perks as a Head Student. For one, you get access to the Prefect bathroom on the fifth floor anytime. However, I doubt you'll use it, as you will also have your own room, complete with a common area and bathroom. Your room, as well as your fellow Head Student's room, will diverge off of the common area, which you will share. You will also be sharing the bathroom. I am sure that you and your partner can work out the sharing of these resources, as you have both been selected due to your leadership skills and responsibility._

_You will report directly to me after the feast, while the Prefects lead their students to their common rooms. It is then that I will direct you and your fellow Head Student to the Head Dorms._

_As you know, we stopped offering the position to one of each biological sex years ago, and have since just chosen the two students who the faculty have deemed best suited to the role of Head Student. As such, you will not be the only Head Girl. The other Head Girl is Miss Ava Sharpe. If you have any questions that I am not available to answer, I would suggest asking Miss Sharpe, as she has been a Prefect the last two years._

_The Prefects are:_

_Raymond Palmer, 7th year Ravenclaw_

_Gideon Hunter, 7th year Ravenclaw (and replacement Prefect for Miss Sharpe)_

_Nora Darhk, 6th year Ravenclaw_

_Lily Stein, 6th year Ravenclaw_

_Damien Darhk, 7th year Slytherin_

_Zari Tomaz, 7th year Slytherin_

_Eobard Thawne, 6th year Slytherin_

_Cassandra Savage, 6th year Slytherin_

_Amaya Jiwe, 7th year Hufflepuff_

_Gary Green, 7th year Hufflepuff_

_Wally West, 6th year Hufflepuff_

_Mona Wu, 6th year Hufflepuff_

_Nate Heywood, 7th year Gryffindor_

_Desmond Laveau, 7th year Gryffindor_

_Jefferson Jackson, 6th year Gryffindor_

_Konane Lee, 6th year Gryffindor_

_The 5th year Prefects you will meet in the Prefect compartment on the Hogwarts Express after your meeting with the 6th and 7th year Prefects._

_You should assign each of the 5th years to a 7th year Prefect for their first patrol so they can learn what to do, and then partner all the prefects as you and Miss Sharpe see fit for the following patrols._

_Congratulations, Miss Lance,_

_Minerva M. McGonagall_

_Headmistress of Hogwarts_

_P.S. I know you are likely concerned about this appointment, but I would not have selected you if I didn't think you'd be able to handle this responsibility. You're a good student, and I have faith in your abilities._

Sara tore herself away from the letter, handing it to her mother, who began reading it aloud as Sara's father looked over her shoulder at the paper.

Sara's mind began racing again. On the one hand, she was overwhelmed by the amount of information and responsibilities she had just been bombarded with. But at least most of her friends were Prefects, so that would help. But the other Head Girl was _Ava Sharpe_? They hated each other! Working together was going to be a nightmare!

Just then, an owl swooped into the room from the open window. It was a magnificent snowy owl, just beautiful and elegant as it flew in a circle once around the kitchen before landing on the counter in front of Sara before extending his leg to offer the letter attached to it, again addressed to Sara. Sara untied it from the bird's leg and watched it immediately take off without waiting for a response. Sara tore the letter open, half afraid it would be a recall letter from the Headmistress.

It was worse.

_Miss Lance,_ _08/20/19_

_I have been informed that you are the other Head Girl this year. As much as it pains me that I have to share this opportunity with the likes of you, I am willing to work through this, as this will help me in my future career aspects._

_But know that if you mess this up for me, I will show you no mercy for the rest of your days. _

_I have already drafted the first patrol schedule below. If you sign it, it will be official, so we can present it to the Prefects on the train._

_Good luck, Miss Lance. You're going to need it._

_Ava Sharpe_

_Head Girl at Hogwarts_

Sara groaned, causing her parents to look at her with concern.

It was going to be a long year.


	3. Chapter 3

Laurel had been super excited, of course, to hear about Sara's new appointment. Sara thought she might have been overcompensating in her enthusiasm due to a small amount of jealousy. Laurel had even taken the day off on September first to take Sara to the train for the ride back.

Sara had been studying non-stop since she'd found out about becoming Head Girl. Mostly out of spite at the letter from Ava, but somewhat out of a feeling of leadership and responsibility. Sara was no stranger to that feeling, being the Captain of the Legends. Sara got a head start on reading her textbooks and taking notes for class. She already had a busy schedule, since the requirements to become an Auror are many and difficult in nature, so she wanted to get at least a little bit ahead anyway, but she decided to do more so that she would have more time and energy to dedicate towards her new role. Plus, it would mean she would have more time to hang out with her friends, practice Quidditch, and have some fun. It was a win-win in Sara's eyes.

And if all of Sara's effort just _happened_ to knock perfect Miss Ava Sharpe down a peg, well, Sara wouldn't mind that at all. In fact, she was counting on it.

So Sara woke up on September first to her sister knocking on her door, excited to get a start on the day. Sara was pretty cheerful getting ready, as she usually was when the time came to go back to Hogwarts. She could see her friends and relax for a while. Well, at least she could after the meeting, and after she sent a couple Prefects to patrol the train. But even with the meeting, the majority of the ride would be spent with her friends, which Sara much preferred over spending the entire trip with Ava _fucking_ Sharpe.

So Sara's sister apparated them to an alley behind a dumpster about a block away from King's Cross, and helped her wheel her trunk into the station, before walking through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾. Sara was quickly bombarded by Zari, almost the moment she stepped through.

"Sara, can you believe I made Prefect? The last guy apparently got caught cheating on his exams last year. Idiot. But at least I get his spot! And you're Head Girl, congrats! This year is gonna be so much fun!"

Sara smiled. "You bet your ass it is!"

Suddenly, Zari was tackled from behind by Charlie, followed by Amaya and Nate, along with the remaining Jiwe sisters.

"Oi, Z, congrats on Prefect! And check it out, Esi got Prefect too! I think Amaya was weeping with joy when she found out - ow! That bloody hurt!" Amaya smacked Charlie on the arm, causing her protest.

"Yes, everyone is very proud of her, and she's gonna do great things, right Esi?" Amaya looked down at her little sister, who beamed back up at Amaya. Esi adored her oldest (by six minutes, Charlie would always protest) sister.

"Yeah, that is if the Head Girls can get their shit together and keep from bloody shivving each other!" Charlie cackled, throwing an arm around Sara's shoulders good-naturedly.

"Not only do I have my shit together, but I have it so together that I've gotten a head start on Quidditch plays for the season. The Fugitives are sooooo going down."

"Sara, can you please watch the language in front of Kuasa and Mari?" Amaya groaned.

"Puh-lease, it's not like they haven't heard worse from Mick anyway," Behrad spoke up, causing the rest of the group to laugh hysterically.

Zari snorted. "Yeah, the quick wit is genetic," she explained.

"Whatever. Charlie, find Mick and John and grab us a compartment, will you? Esi, why don't you help the younger ones find their own compartment? Afterwards, you should meet Amaya, Nate, Zari, Ray, Jax, and I at the Prefects compartment." Sara was already in leader mode. She knew that she needed to go to the Heads compartment at the front of the train before the Prefect meeting to talk things over with Ava, but she wanted the few extra moments with her friends, first. Her friends all saluted at her, which she returned with a grin (it was a joke, since she was the Captain of the Legends, she had been appointed "Captain of the friend group"), before turning to hug Laurel goodbye and get on the train. Once her friends and her all got their luggage on the train, they went to their respective compartments.

Sara made sure her friends were all settled before heading to the Heads compartment. Upon entering, she found Ava already there, papers spread out on a table neatly. Her head shot up when Sara came in, immediately fixing her with an icy sort of glare.

"You never approved my patrol schedule. I sent it to you over a week ago. What, did you lose it or something?" Ava remarked snidely.

Sara grit her teeth and balled her fists at her sides. She let out her breath, slowly, and relaxed her hands and jaw before speaking. "Actually, I thought your schedule needed some work." Sara pulled a file folder from the bag on her shoulder, presenting it to Ava, who raised an eyebrow before opening it.

Sara couldn't help her smirk as Ava's eyes widened in shock at the schedule she'd made. She was really proud of it. It was color coordinated by year and house, and people of the same year had been paired, but not of the same house. "As you can see, my schedule provides opportunity for inter-house cooperation, starting by week 2. I thought it would be a good idea to provide an example of cooperation for the rest of the school, especially the underclassmen. Plus, if you turn to the next pages, I have set a rotation of the schedule for the next few weeks, and then after everyone has worked with everyone else in their year, they can choose to request a partner, which has to change every three weeks. Also, the schedule for the first week of the term pairs the 5th years with 7th years of a different house, so that should help with the inter-house initiative."

Ava floundered quietly for a moment, trying to find fault with something, anything, in Sara's meticulous schedule. She certainly hadn't been expecting this. Finally, she found something, and gave Sara a sort of smug look.

"Aha! I see you've paired Miss Jiwe with her younger sister for the first week of patrols. That's nepotism. I knew you couldn't take this seriously."

Sara's eyes narrowed, but she continued to keep her voice calm. "Actually, it's not technically nepotism, since Amaya didn't assign herself to Esi. In fact, neither of them even requested it. I thought it would be a good idea, since Esi very clearly looks up to Amaya, and Amaya would make Esi feel more comfortable and confident in her abilities. It has literally no downside. And, according to Amaya, Cassandra Savage was paired with her older brother Vandal last year for week one patrols, so it's not like it hasn't been done before."

Ava kept a cool exterior, but internally, she was fuming. She had worked her entire school career for this. _Sara wasn't even a fucking Prefect! And now she waltzes in here with her perfect schedule, the Golden Girl of Gryffindor. God, can't I just have this one thing?!_

Ava hadn't had the greatest summer. The reason Ava had transferred to Hogwarts was her identical triplet sisters. Her sisters, Amy and Aria, were so perfect. Perfect grades, perfect style, perfect attitudes, perfect boyfriends. At Beauxbatons, Ava was just a chipped cup in a matched tea set.

Ava had finally come out to her family over the summer, and her parents had not taken it well. Not by a long shot. And Amy and Aria didn't exactly help, either. They weren't homophobic like their parents, but they weren't exactly supportive of Ava, either. Ava just didn't get along with them. Their personalities were so similar to each other, while Ava's wasn't. Ava often thought that the two of them must've been identical twins, and Ava must've been a fraternal triplet who just happened to get stuck with the same face as the other two.

Ava had packed up everything she had that summer, and went to spend it at her friend Gary's. Gary Green, Mona Wu, and Nora Darhk were her chosen family, and her best friends. Gary was the Seeker on the Bureau team, and Mona was the team's Keeper. With Ava as Chaser, and the new Captain of the Bureau team, now that Rip had graduated, they kept trying to recruit Nora. But she was adamant that she was meant to be just a spectator.

And, yeah, it was nice that Ava got to spend the summer with her best friends, but she wished that it had been under less miserable circumstances. That's why she was so pissed when she'd found out that Sara was the other Head Girl.

Sara had come out to her family and friends as bisexual the summer after Ava started at Hogwarts. She'd remembered all the gossip, heard that Sara's parents were super wonderful and understanding. Not like that was a wound to Ava's heart or anything. And, on top of the perfect coming-out story, Sara and her friends got away with just about anything. Ava had spent the last two years as Prefect trying to hold them accountable by docking points and giving detentions whenever possible, as they clearly broke more rules than they were being punished for. Ava considered it a kind of justice, though, deep down, she knew its roots were in spite.

Ava was determined not to let Sara _fucking_ Lance ruin this for her. She spent the summer working at Flourish and Blott's, so she hadn't had a lot of time to devote to the schedule. She figured Sara would slack off and just go with whatever Ava said anyway, so she just did the easiest thing and assigned patrols by House and year.

But no, apparently Sara wanted to make this a competition.

_Fine,_ Ava thought. _Game on, Lance._


	4. Chapter 4

After the opening feast, Sara's friends offered to wait for her. She shrugged them off casually, though inside she was a bundle of nervous energy. What if McGonagall decided that she wasn't good enough to be Head Girl after all? What if Ava tried to get her kicked from the position? What if, what if, what if?

"Nah, no worries. I'll catch you guys at breakfast tomorrow. See ya!" she called over her shoulder with false confidence as she made her way to Professor McGonagall at the professor's table on the dias in the front of the room.

"Miss Lance, Miss Sharpe, good evening." Ava had come up behind Sara just as the Headmistress began speaking, shooting a discreet glare Sara's way before turning to the professor with rapt attention.

"If you will follow me, I will show you to your dormitory," McGonagall began with a sweep of her robes as she began to stride out of the Great Hall, Sara and Ava flanking her from behind as they listened. "As I'm sure you remember from your acceptance letters, the common room has three rooms that diverge off of it; the bathroom, and one room for each of you, complete with your own bed, chest, vanity, and wardrobe. Your belongings have already been delivered there. You should unpack tonight, as I am sure you will both be busy with classes. The Auror track is an intense one. Perhaps you two could study together, in order to make things easier."

Sara glanced at Ava out of the corner of her eye, as Ava snorted quietly with derision. _Work with _her_? I don't think so_, they each thought.

Sara was actually a little surprised that Ava was also studying to become an Auror. Sara would've pegged the intense blonde as one better suited for Magical Law than Magical Law Enforcement. Still, she supposed it wasn't her place to judge.

Ava, on the other hand, was mentally kicking herself. Of _course_ Sara fucking Lance was going to be an Auror. Sara was tough and was always picking fights. Plus, now that Ava thought of it, wasn't the head of the Auror department named Quentin _Lance_? They were probably related; after all, how common of a last name was 'Lance'?

Finally, they reached a pair of tall suits of armor, one with a Gryffindor lion on its chest, and the other emblazoned with a Ravenclaw eagle. Between them was a statue of an owl, its wings placed similarly to those of the phoenix statue leading to the Headmistress's office.

"The password is 'Waverider'. I assume I don't need to direct you further. I will leave you two to explore and get settled. Good night, ladies."

"Good night, Headmistress," Sara and Ava chorused in unison as they watched their mentor turn on her heel and walk away.

Sara turned around and spoke the password quickly, as she was eager to get some rest. It'd been a long day, and she'd already spent entirely too much time with her fellow Head Girl for one day (or one lifetime, in Sara's opinion). The owl statue sprung to life, nodding and folding its left wing, revealing a brown arched door. Sara opened it, and the door swung into the room. Sara held the door for Ava reflexively, as her parents taught her to always be courteous to others (that compounded with her Gryffindor chivalry and her exhaustion would be what Sara would blame this act of kindness on). The statue's wing moved back to its original position, and Sara shut the door behind them. Ava, meanwhile, was fumbling along the wall next to the door for the lightswitch. Upon finding it, she flipped the switch, illuminating the room.

Sara and Ava looked around with awe. The decorations of the room were a gorgeous mixture of Ravenclaw blue and Gryffindor crimson. There was a lush gold carpet covering the common area, with blue and bronze couches, with plush red chairs. There was also a couple window-seats, on either side of the fireplace across from the door. The left seat had a blue cushion and bronze pillows, with red curtains with golden accents. The other seat was the opposite; it had a red cushion and gold pillows, with royal blue curtains with bronze accents. The main room was a massive circle, with two curved staircases beginning on the sides and leading up to a lofted hallway above, that contained three doors. The middle door was directly above the fireplace, and they assumed it was the bathroom. One door, the right, above the window-seat with red cushions, was a magnificent blue, with a bronze eagle adorning the middle of the door. The other door, sitting above the window-seat with blue cushions, on the left, was crimson, sporting a golden lion in the center.

"Well, I suppose we know whose room is whose," Sara remarked, trying to break the silence with a joke.

Ava snorted and started laughing despite herself (which she would later blame on her own exhaustion and her dumbfoundedness at the beautiful room lowering her defenses against terrible jokes). "No shit, Lance."

Sara stared at Ava, even more dumbstruck than she'd been at the room. "Did Ava Sharpe just curse? Who are you, and what have you done with the real Ava?"

"Please, I curse all the time, which you'd know if you'd ever bothered to notice anything outside of your own social bubble." Ava's comment was meant to be light and joking. She figured she'd had enough animosity for one day. If she was going to be stuck living and working with Sara, then she'd at least try to make her living situation a little more relaxed, especially since working was going to be more war-like.

Sara, however, did not take the comment as a joke. Maybe it had something to do with Ava's tired tone, or the fact that the words kind of hit home, but either way, she perceived them as fighting words. "And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Ava grimaced at the sharpness in Sara's voice. "Nothing, nothing, really. It's just that you clearly have a core group of friends, and you don't really know me. Not that I know you, either, because I have a group of friends too, just -"

"Oh, because I have friends, I'm oblivious to my surroundings?"

"No, that's not what I'm trying to say!" Ava plopped down on one of the couches and pulled her hair out of her perfect bun that rested at the nape of her neck, pulling the strands as she brushed it out with her fingers. She waited a moment, stabilizing her voice and calming down before speaking again. She looked over at Sara, whose eyes blazed with an intense fire, and whose body language was all sass, with her hip cocked and her arms crossed defensively. "I just meant that we don't know each other very well. That's all." She slumped back, eyes downcast, looking at nothing in particular

"Oh." Sara's attitude deflated somewhat. "Well, you'd better treasure this moment, because it will likely never happen again," she started. Ava looked up at Sara curiously. "You're right, and I'm sorry. We really don't know each other." Sara smiled somewhat meekly at Ava, who returned the look.

"Well, I suppose we'll have plenty of opportunity to remedy that, won't we?"

Sara felt as though her eyes had barely closed when her alarm went off. It was an old muggle alarm clock, a gift from Laurel for her last year of school. Sara whacked the top of the alarm to shut it up as she sat up. She groaned as she stretched, wishing for nothing more than to collapse back into the bed, which was the most comfortable she had ever slept in. Instead she stood, knowing that she had to get to breakfast to meet her friends and get her schedule. She stretched once more now that she was standing, and moved to her wardrobe to pull out her uniform. She decided to go with a skirt rather than pants today, as it was unseasonably warm for Scotland in September. She grabbed her bathrobe and headed to the bathroom between her room and Ava's. She found a note taped to the door.

_Sara_

_I figured you'd wake up after me. No offense, you just don't seem like a morning person. I put what I assumed were your soaps and such in the shower, separate from mine, so we don't get mixed up. The red towels and washcloths appear to be yours; I suppose they just don't want us to forget our houses!_

_Sorry again for the argument last night. I would really like for us to have a relaxed dorm life, since we clash enough on the Quidditch Pitch and will likely clash in our responsibilities as Head Students._

_I hope you are well._

_Ava Sharpe_

Sara was pleasantly surprised by the courtesy evident in the note from Ava. She'd even laughed at Ava's joke about not forgetting their houses. Since when had Ava been funny? Or, dare she say it, charming?

Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad after all.

Sara found herself almost immediately proved wrong on that front. She went down to the Great Hall and began to make her way over to her friends when Ava stopped her, brandishing Sara's schedule with a scowl.

"We have all the same classes," Ava said plainly.

"Oookaay? I mean, I figured we would, what with us both studying to be Aurors…"

"Whatever."

Sara watched as Ava turned on her heel and strode back over to her own friends, Nora, Gary, and Mona. _What's gotten into her this morning? What happened to the Ava who made a joke about the dorm colors?_

Sara shrugged and walked back over to her own friends, quickly forgetting about Ava's change in attitude, focusing instead on Nate balancing a spoon on the end of his nose and laughing as she and her friends compared schedules.

Ava had woken up feeling great. She woke up a couple minutes before her 6:30 alarm (a muggle alarm that she had originally bought to spite her 'perfectly Pureblood' family members), stretched, turned off the alarm, and strode over to her wardrobe. She pulled out a uniform with pants. She knew that it was warm for a Scottish September, but she always felt more comfortable in pants than in a skirt.

She went to the bathroom for a shower, noticing the lack of noise coming from Sara's room as she went. _Figures she's not a morning person._

Ava noticed upon entering that the bathroom, unlike the common room with its mix of house colors, was a neutral cream color. She did, however, see that their towels were still colored by house. She grabbed the blue towel and washcloth from their rack next to the sink and hung them on the hook by the shower. She checked the shower, noticing that her toiletries weren't there. She looked around, finally finding them under the sink, along with bottles of shampoo and conditioner and soap that she assumed were Sara's. She placed them in the shower, though separate from her own items, and began washing for the day. After she was finished, she toweled off, wrapped her towel around herself, and walked back to her bedroom to get dressed. She packed her schoolbag, and was about to head out the door to her bedroom, when she paused. She turned back and grabbed a quill, ink, and parchment, as well as some tape. She scrawled out a note for Sara, even putting a joke in there, since she was in such a good mood. The first day of Hogwarts was always a good one.

She found herself to be wrong in that sentiment almost immediately after arriving at the Great Hall. She had grabbed her schedule, as well as Sara's (she might as well, so Sara wouldn't have to wait in the monstrous line of 7th years to get her class timetable), and sat down with her friends to eat. She was listening to Gary talk about his dungeons and dragons ("It's a muggle tabletop role-playing game or something", Nora explained in a whisper to Ava, so as not to interrupt Gary) group from over the summer, enjoying her breakfast when the owl she recognized as her mother's dropped a letter next to her plate, narrowly missing Ava's pancakes slathered with syrup (she usually treated herself to a more sugary breakfast on the first day of term). Ava sighed and put down her fork before reaching for the envelope, opening it with a sinking feeling in her chest. It was never good news when she received a letter from any of her family members, especially her mother.

_Ava,_

_After you told us of your… discovery of your sexuality, we decided to do some digging into your life at Hogwarts. It has come to our attention that you have been associating yourself with the muggle-borns of Mr Green and Miss Wu, and with the blood traitor Nora Darhk, two of whom are similarly inclined to homosexual tendencies._

_We also discovered that after you left this summer, you went to stay with Mr Green. We cannot believe you would put the family name at risk like this, defaming the Sharpe name by associating with those beneath us in magic and society. Amy and Aria would never do such a thing to us._

_It is because of all of this, and because you decided not to return home this summer, we no longer have any qualms with your sexuality, because you have disgraced us so much more than that. And, now that you are an adult, we have decided to cut you off and disown you. We would prefer that you find a different last name, but you may keep it for the next year, as we have already taken measures to distance ourselves from you, plus changing your name at Hogwarts would be even more of an embarrassment to the family._

_The remainder of your personal effects will be arriving at Hogwarts sometime next week, as the house elves are already hard at work packing up your room. You will receive a sum of 200 Galleons to be used for living expenses after you graduate, as you will no longer be welcome at Sharpe Manor._

_Despite our estrangement, we wish you the best in your future endeavors._

_Sincerely,_

_Louisa Sharpe_

_(Who, within this notice, represents the interests and wishes of the Sharpe family)_

Ava was completely floored. She was in shock, feeling nothing but a cold emptiness within her chest. She'd been essentially excommunicated from her entire family. Yeah, they were assholes, but she still hadn't wished for this. She wanted them to accept her, not kick her out!

Ava began to feel anger burning in her chest. She shoved it down as far as she could; she couldn't deal with this, not today. She had to get a good start in her classes. She determined that she would take it out at the pitch later.

Just then, she noticed Sara enter the Great Hall. She got up robotically to give Sara her schedule.

She didn't want to undo their progress from the night before by being angry, so Ava settled with cold indifference. It wasn't great, but it was better than the alternative.

_I just need some time to think through this and process_, she told herself.

She turned back to her friends, who had been fixing her with a concerned look since she had opened the letter. She sighed, and handed the letter to Nora. Nora would explain everything to Gary and Mona, so Ava wouldn't have to.

Ava sat back down and ate her pancakes morosely, staring at nothing. After a time, she noticed that her eyes had drifted to Sara and her group, where Sara was laughing with her friends as they all tried to mimic Nate with a spoon balancing on the end of his nose.

Ava smiled despite herself, wishing more than anything to have a carefree life like that.


	5. Chapter 5

_Shit_, Nora Darhk thought as she watched her best friend, Ava, stare into the distance while poking absentmindedly at her food with her fork. Nora looked back down at the letter, reading it for the third time, still barely processing. _I mean, I'm a disappointment to my parents, too, but they would never kick me out. And at the very least, Damien wouldn't rat me out; he'd still support me. What the fuck did Amy and Aria do to support Ava?_

She looked back up at her friend with worry, not breaking her gaze as she handed the offending letter across the table to Mona, who read it in a whisper to Gary. Nora followed Ava's - wistful? - gaze over to where Sara Lance sat with her friends, laughing and joking and completely oblivious to Ava's plight. Nora sighed, before turning her eyes slightly to Sara's left (Nora's right) to settle on one Raymond Palmer, who kept on dropping the spoon he was trying to balance on his nose.

Nora smiled despite herself, silently chuckling at the boy's antics. Almost as if he could sense her eyes on him, he looked up and made eye contact with her, giving her a kind, massive grin and an enthusiastic wave, which Nora returned shyly, before averting her eyes and returning her attention to her friends around her.

Gary and Mona were clearly itching to comfort Ava somehow, probably in the form of a crushing group hug, with Nora recognized as the last thing Ava needed right now. So Nora suggested that she get a head start on getting to class and getting settled, maybe talk to the professor about Aurorship, since it was Defense Against the Dark Arts that was Ava's first class on Monday mornings. Ava nodded distractedly, standing and grabbing her bag, not breaking her intense staring at the Legends crew until she turned to leave the Great Hall.

Nora immediately rounded on her remaining friends, reminding them that Ava handled things differently than they did, and that she would approach them if she wanted a hug or comfort. "She's got to process her own way, in her own time, like I did when Damien joined that weird cult."

Gary and Mona reluctantly agreed, and Gary went to go join Ava at Defense, while Mona left to go to the dungeons for Potions. Nora stood and began to walk in the direction of the Charms classroom, before she was stopped by Ray Palmer, who pulled her to the side of the corridor, so as not to block any of the students passing.

Nora was so surprised, she didn't even think to be annoyed about the delay in her walk to Charms (_not that she could ever be annoyed around Ray_, but she brushed that thought off).

"Hey Nora! How was your summer?"

Nora looked up at Ray, kind of incredulous. _He yanks me over to the side to ask me how my summer was?_ It was then that Nora noticed that Ray's hand was still holding hers from when he pulled her aside. She gently pulled her hand from his, and thought - just for a moment - that she saw something in his eyes. Disappointment? She banished the thought.

"Uh, it was fine. Quiet. Damien was hanging at Thawne's place most of the summer, so I just got some reading done and relaxed. How about you?"

"Oh, it was great! I spent a lot of time with my friends, and I took my sister to a waterpark," he paused a moment, noticing Nora's look of confusion at the word 'waterpark'. "Oh, sorry, forgot. A waterpark is a muggle park full of slides and pools and stuff, except there's water that propels the slides and currents and waves and inner tubes and stuff. It's really fun! It was good bonding time for my sister and I, since she usually hangs out with my brother, but he was off with his crew all summer, same as your brother I guess. Not that they're friends, I just meant -"

Nora, while she found Ray's rambling a little endearing, decided to cut him off there, for the sake of time. "I get it. So… any particular reason you yanked me out of the middle of the hallway?"

"Oh, yeah! I had something I wanted to talk to you about, but I didn't want to be rude, so I thought I'd ask about your summer first, although I guess we could talk about that at any time, really…"

"Ray." Nora fixed him with a look. He was rambling again.

"Got it, sorry. I wanted to ask about Ava. Sara mentioned that she'd been… off, this morning. Something about a 'drastic mood change' or something like that. And then I noticed Ava kinda staring at Sara with a weird look on her face during breakfast. Any ideas? I just want to make sure that Sara doesn't say or do something stupid to make Ava angry if she's going through something, you know?"

Nora sighed. While she was glad Ray had finally gotten to the point, she had kind of wished that he didn't have an ulterior motive, that he just wanted to talk to her. Everyone in her life, save for Ava, Gary, and Mona, seemed to have an ulterior motive for every action, and Nora just once wished that someone outside of her exactly three friends would want to talk to her for the sake of talking to her. _Whatever, you're being melodramatic, just chill and answer the question_.

"Well, I can't tell you any specifics; I would never betray Ava's trust like that. But yeah, Ava's going through some shit right now. She had a huge fight with her family over the summer, and she just got some bad news that's going to affect the future she's had planned out since fourth year when she transferred here. So, if you could pass onto Lance to give Ava some space and patience, that would be great, thanks."

Nora began to turn around and continue her walk to class, when Ray's hand shot out and grabbed hers again, turning her back around and then pulling her into a massive hug. Nora's face pressed against Ray's chest (due to his height advantage; 8 inches taller than Nora, which sometimes she found annoying, but couldn't bring herself to just now), which was… surprisingly toned. After a moment of surprise, Nora returned the hug. Unable to help herself, she got a whiff of Ray's shirt, which smelled of cotton, rain, and Old Spice deodorant, which would've made Nora swoon if she weren't trying so hard to keep her composure.

Ray pulled back from the hug, his arms moving from Nora's back to her biceps, keeping her at a distance, but not too far. He looked into her eyes, deeply, and for a second, Nora thought his eyes might have darted lower, to her mouth. But before she could think about it, he was speaking again.

"Thank you for helping. I really appreciate it. Ava's lucky to have you as a friend." Suddenly, his cheeks pinkened, and he dropped his hands from her arms and studied his shoes. "And, uh, I kinda wanted an excuse to talk to you. I had a good time studying with you last semester in Ancient Runes, and I was wondering if we maybe had other similar classes? So we could still hang out I mean. Uh, but only if you want to, of course, I wouldn't want to impose or assume -"

Nora cut him off again, this time grinning and shaking her head as she chuckled. "I'd love to study with you. I'm taking Arithmancy on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons this term, which is my only 7th-year level class…"

"Oh, I've got that too! Awesome! Would you maybe want to sit together?"

"Yeah, I'd like that alot. We could also eat lunch and walk to class together those days, and meet up to study in the evenings?"

"That sounds great! Oh, shoot, but I've got patrols on Thursday nights…"

"I've got Wednesday nights. Who's your partner? Maybe I'll ask them to trade with me, so we could study together and then do patrols, and then continue studying after if we need it?"

"That sounds awesome! I've got Gary."

"Perfect, because I've got Mona, so Gary won't mind. I'll check with Ava, you check with Sara?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Ray beamed down at Nora, and she grinned right back.

"Okay, well I've got to rush to Charms, since it starts in 10 minutes, and I like to get situated," Nora started, reluctant to stop talking to Ray.

Ray's smile, if it was possible, grew even larger. "That's awesome! I've got a free period right now, and I offered to be kind of a teaching assistant for Flitwick, so I'll walk with you!"

Ray jokingly and exuberantly offered Nora his arm. Nora laughed and gave him a light push on the bicep (which, again, she noticed was surprisingly toned. _Thank Merlin for Quidditch_, she thought as she attempted to fight off a blush). Laughing, she and Ray headed off to class.

They were about halfway there when Ray exclaimed, "Oh!" and pulled out a rectangle from his bag, and began whipping his thumbs across the bottom half of the glass screen. Once he was done with whatever he was doing, he looked over at Nora, acknowledging her puzzled look.

"Oh, it's a cell phone. I figured out how to make Muggle tech work here, and most of my friends have access to a cell phone, so I can type out a message on the phone, and whoever I send it to will see it on their own phone. I was just texting Sara to give Ava a break since she's going through some stuff, but I can actually text a bunch of people at once, in our group chat," Ray explained.

Nora was fascinated, and was so glad that she was taking advanced Muggle Studies this year. _Maybe you could as Ray to tutor you… extra time with him, plus you can learn about his world._

They continued their walk to class, Nora asking questions about this Muggle technology, and Ray answering them with encouragement, caught up in the wild and fascinated look in Nora's gorgeous bright green eyes.

From: Atom

_Hey, Captain! I talked to Nora about Ava's weird mood swing this morning. She said Ava had a blow up with her fam this summer, and she got some bad news about that this morning. So it's nothing you did, at least! Maybe just give her some space?_

From: Captain Canary

_Thanks Ray. I really appreciate your help. Catch you at the RoR tonight for First Day Debrief?_

From: Atom

_Totally, see you there!_

_Also, Nora and I need to study together on Thursday afternoons, so she's switching shifts with Gary, if that's alright?_

From: Captain Canary

_I mean, it kind of messes with the point of inter-house stuff, but I'll find a way to justify it if anyone finds out or asks quetions_

_**questions_

_Wtf phone?_

From: Atom

_Thanks, you're the best!_

_:P_

Sara put her phone back in her bag before entering the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. There was only a minute until class started, as Sara had taken her sweet time at breakfast, so there was only one seat left. Sara groaned inwardly; the only open seat was to the right of one Miss Ava Sharpe. Apparently no one had wanted to sit near her, as she had been sitting in the same straight-backed position, her gaze steely as she looked out into nothing, the gears of her brain almost visibly grinding with frustration as she overthought.

Sara kept Ray's message in mind as she went to take her seat, dropping her bag on the floor next to the chair. This, evidently, snapped Ava out of her reverie, as her head whipped up and over at Sara, who smiled meekly in response.

"Oh, it's you. Why are you sitting next to me?" Ava asked dryly.

"No other seats. Otherwise I would've left you in peace."

Ava snorted. "Peace. That's funny." Bitterness infected Ava's tone.

Sara sighed. "Nora told Ray that you were going through some shit. Don't worry, she didn't give any specifics," she tried to appease the panicked look Ava gave her at hearing that Nora had mentioned her. "I just hope things work out eventually, and that you feel better, or whatever is going on… stops going on? I'm not very good at this."

"Actually, you're doing a pretty good job." Ava's tone, along with her expression, softened as she looked at Sara, before taking on a determined look. "Hey, what are you doing after potions today?" Ava asked.

"Well, I don't have to worry about Quidditch tryouts, since no one graduated last year, even though it's the Legends' slot today, so I guess nothing. Why do you ask?"

_Perfect_, Ava thought. "Can we play one on one Quidditch after classes? I need to work out my frustrations somehow, and I feel like I'll get a better workout with someone else there. And who better than my on-field rival?"

Sara grinned wickedly. "Alright, but be prepared for the workout of your life."

"Bring it on, Lance."


	6. Chapter 6

So Sara found herself grinning through Defense Against the Dark Arts (taught by new professor Kendra Saunders, which was a pleasant surprise for Sara, as she got to see an old teammate and friend) in anticipation of the Quidditch workout to come at the end of the day. Sara loved quidditch, and hadn't played since she got her Head Girl letter, having been too focused on her responsibilities and getting ahead in classes. So she was itching with anticipation to be back on her broom, soaring through the skies with a Quaffle under her arm.

Beside her, Ava seemed to be in the same sort of mood, her right leg bouncing almost uncontrollably, a surefire sign of anticipatory energy. It was then that Sara noticed her own left leg doing the same, and her lips twitched in a smile, before turning back to Kendra - or, rather, Professor Saunders - at the front of the room as she explained the syllabus.

It was going to be a good day.

It was going to be a good day.

Nora sat in her usual spot in the Charms classroom - front row, on the far side by the windows. However, it turned out that Ray's Teaching Assistant desk was placed just across from Nora's seat, which was a pleasant surprise.

Ray kept smiling at her during the first few minutes of class, but Nora was determined not to get distracted, focusing intently on taking notes from the board on Concealment Charms.

Unbeknownst to Nora, who had blocked out all distractions, Ray was very much distracted. He had nothing to grade or do at the moment, so he'd tried to get a head start on his Transfiguration notes, but was instead captivated by Nora: the fire behind her intense emerald eyes, the way her raven hair flowed in waves over her shoulder and the way she tucked it behind her ear when a strand made its way to her eyes, the way her hand formed each word in her notes, the adorable freckles, barely visible on her pale porcelain skin, the way she held her wand, the way her lips moved as she whispered the incantations to practice the charms. Ray was completely lost in all things Nora.

He'd realized his crush on Nora when they'd studied last term, but at the time, it was just a small flutter in Ray's chest. That flutter had, apparently, grown immensely over the summer, leaving Ray hopelessly infatuated.

Nora had successfully performed the charm, and her face was triumphant and joyous. She, finally, looked up at Ray, and found him already looking at her. She gave a small blush, and he gave a goofy grin and a double thumbs-up, which made Nora smile and shake her head jovially at his antics.

Ray was so screwed.

Zari was so screwed.

She and Charlie had all of their classes together, both being of the same house and year, and both aspiring to go into Magical Research and Development. This wasn't Zari's problem.

Zari's problem was that she and Charlie had been paired together in literally every single class that day.

The first was Transfiguration with Professor Stein. In this class, Zari wasn't friends with anyone else, and apparently neither was Charlie, so they agreed to sit together. It was after everyone was settled that Stein informed them that these would be their seats at least until the winter holidays. Zari didn't mind this so much, since Charlie was her only friend in that period.

Then they had Potions with Professor Slughorn. He paired them together based on career aspirations, and Charlie and Zari were the only ones in their chosen field, so naturally they were together. Again, Zari didn't mind too much, because though it was kind of annoying, Charlie was a friend, and it could be worse.

Next was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Kendra, whom Zari hadn't ever met, as she'd graduated before Zari joined the team, but had heard stories about. Kendra decided to pair them in lateral alphabetical order (first alphabetical name with last alphabetical name, and so on), which paired - you guessed it - Zari and Charlie. By this point, Zari was more than a little annoyed, but figured that she'd get a reprieve from Charlie during their free period and during their last class.

Well, that free period was spent at lunch, which Zari and Charlie both ate with the rest of their friends. So while it was a small reprieve, Charlie was still there.

Their last class of the day was Herbology with Professor Sprout, who paired them randomly. _Thank fuck_, Zari thought. _I like hanging out with Charlie and all, but this is my every Monday/Wednesday/Friday. I'll go mad if it's just us all the time._

At least, those _were_ Zari's thoughts, until Sprout paired her with Charlie. Again.

Zari's face may have begun to take on a purple-like hue at her frustration. You see, Zari had had a slight (who are we kidding, it was a big one) crush on Amaya last year, and when she started dating Nate, it really hurt Zari. She'd never told anyone about her crush, and didn't let it affect her friendships, and she never let on how she was feeling. She was mostly over it, but seeing Charlie, who shared Amaya's face, at every turn, was more than a little difficult to swallow. And Zari knew that it wasn't Charlie's fault, and it wasn't even Amaya or Nate's fault, but her own. And she knew that Charlie and Amaya were completely different people, regardless of how they looked, but it still hurt. Over the summer, it had simmered down to a dull ache, but that ache was still there, regardless of how hard Zari fought it.

"Whoa, pump the brakes there, Z. What's got you rattled? You look like Rayge after we made him eat that ghost pepper last summer!" Charlie made sure her tone was light and joking, but her face betrayed her concern for her friend.

Zari shook herself out of it. _Enough with the pity party. You have every single class paired with one of your close friends. Stop bitching and enjoy yourself!_

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks though."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, all good. Just tired, didn't sleep well."

Charlie frowned with concern, before she took on a wicked grin.

See, Charlie was a Metamorphmagus. So, in an attempt to lighten Zari's mood, she decided to take on the face of another. Particularly, Professor Sprout, who had just left the greenhouse to retrieve some supplies that she'd forgotten.

So, with Professor Sprout's face, Charlie began her shenanigans. "Alright, you bloody wanker, since you're being a right pain in the arse, it's my job to make sure you aren't a bummer for the rest of the class," she offered with a wink, before standing and making her way to the platform in the middle of the greenhouse that Professor Sprout stood on to teach, doing her best Sprout impression. "Students, today we will be working by planting Wiggentrees! Wiggentrees need very loose soil," At this, Charlie paused and looked at Ray, who shared this class with them, but was paired with Mick, and he gave her a nod. He knew that it was Charlie on the platform, but couldn't bring himself to stop her, especially not with Mick right there, who was muttering something about this class finally getting interesting, and didn't want to get on Mick's bad side. Plus, surprisingly, Charlie was right about the soil conditions. "So, you lot, get out your gloves and start loosening this dirt! Should be very loose, almost like sand! Hop to it, all! Don't be afraid to make a mess, it's a greenhouse after all!"

The students all began making a complete mess of their pots, tearing into the soil with their bare hands. Sprout walked in with some gardening tools, and on seeing the mess, flew into damage control mode. "Students, please, stop at once!" When they didn't listen, she repeated the instruction with help of the Sonorous charm, which did finally get their attention. Sprout sighed. "We'll clean this up after class," she said tiredly. "10 points from Slytherin, and detention, Miss Jiwe," she added, looking up at her apparent doppelganger on the platform. Charlie, still looking like Sprout, took an exaggerated bow before reverting to her own face with a wicked grin, before hopping off the platform and making her way back over to a cackling Zari.

Zari wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "Oh, I needed that. Thanks."

"No problem mate. Someone needed to get you to loosen up, pull that stick out of your arse." Charlie winked mischievously back at her friend, who rolled her eyes in response.

"Hey, what's wrong with my ass?" Zari asked in mock defensiveness as she turned back to her pot, following Sprout's directions, her back to Charlie.

Charlie smirked. "Nothing at all, you've got a mighty fine arse." Charlie stopped leaning against the greenhouse wall and crossed behind Zari, giving aforementioned ass a firm smack as she passed, causing Zari to jump, before whacking her friend on the arm. They both turned back to the lesson, though Charlie was lost in thought.

Charlie had noticed Zari's progressively souring mood throughout the day, but had chalked it up to first day exhaustion. While Zari's mood had become darker over the course of the day, Charlie had been elated.

Charlie kinda had a secret thing for Zari. Zari was intelligent, beautiful, passionate, clever, driven, and on top of it all, fit as hell. Charlie had had a small crush on Zari for a few years, but it turned to swooning at the beginning of 6th year, when everyone had gone for a dip in the lake (on a dare from Mick, of course), and Charlie noticed for the first time Zari's biceps and abs, which left her lightheaded.

And Charlie wasn't oblivious. She'd noticed how Zari looked at Amaya, and how her attitude changed when Amaya started dating Nate. At first, Charlie was jealous of her twin. _Of bloody course everyone loves perfect Amaya_. But Charlie talked things through with Amaya over the last summer, explaining that she had a crush on someone who was crushing on Amaya (never mentioning names) and asking for advice, and Amaya was kind and understanding and everything Charlie needed her to be in that moment. Sure, they had their disagreements, and were really polar opposites, but they were still family, and still loved each other despite (or, rather, because of) their differences.

Since it was their last year at Hogwarts, Charlie was determined that, one way or another, she was going to show Zari that she'd gone after the wrong Jiwe. That Charlie liked her, and wanted to be with her, and knew her soul better than Amaya did or ever could.

_I can make this work_, she thought as she looked over at Zari as Sprout dismissed the class. Some of her hair had escaped her ponytail, and a few strands found themselves in her face, which she tried to blow away with a puff of air from her lips. She was sweating due to the heat of the greenhouse, and had some dirt on her nose and forehead.

Zari picked up her bag and began to filter out of the greenhouse with the rest of the students before Charlie's hand on her wrist stopped her.

"Oi, wait a second, you bloody disaster. You've made a mess of yourself," Charlie explained. She ignored the tingle in her fingers and the thumping of her heart and the butterflies in her stomach as she used her thumbs to wipe the dirt from Zari's nose, forehead, and a spot on her cheek that she'd missed before, then pulled the escaped strands of hair from Zari's face and tucked them behind her ears, using her metamorphmagus powers to keep her from blushing furiously. Once satisfied, she nodded. "All better now. Let's head to dinner!" She turned on her heel and made to leave, only stopping at the door to urge Zari to follow, as Zari stood, a little shocked, and hadn't made a move since Charlie stopped her.

Zari's mind raced. _What the hell was that?_ Charlie pulled on her arm, snapping her out of her reverie, and followed, pushing the thoughts from her mind and focusing on dinner.

Zari ignored the way her pulse pounded through her veins.

Sara embraced the way her pulse pounded through her veins.

Her broom was slung over her shoulder, and she was in her muggle shorts, a grey tank top, and a black sports bra. She felt great, since it was so warm for a September day in Scotland.

Ava fell into step next to her, wearing a pair of blue athletic leggings and a matching blue dry fit shirt.

Sara gave her a glance over. "You own Muggle clothing?"

Ava snorted. "Yeah, my parents and sisters are snobs about 'the purity of the magical blood', as they put it, which I think is bullshit. So, as a way to spite them, I had Mona take me shopping a few summers ago, and I bought all the Muggle gear I could find. Clothes, shoes, funky socks," at this, Sara burst out laughing. "Hey, watch it, I love my funky socks! I've got some with rainbows, some with pizza, some with penguins, stuff like that, so they're totally cool. And I've got pens and pencils and notebooks, you know, Muggle school supplies. And I bought myself a phone. My parents are loaded, so as long as I wasn't buying a private island or bothering them, I could do whatever I wanted. Not that they ever noticed, but it was kind of my personal form of rebellion, you know?"

"Hey, I'm always supportive of rebellion, you know that!" Sara joked with a lopsided grin at Ava.

They had finally made it to the pitch. "So, we gonna keep yapping, or are we gonna play some Quidditch?" Sara asked, an eyebrow raised cockily.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you," Ava warned with a cool smirk.

"Please, your best is still too easy." Sara kicked off, her broom soaring in the air.

"Oh, I am gonna make you eat those words, Lance!" Ava shouted at the sky as Sara swooped above her, before she mounted her own broom and kicked off the ground.

"Gotta catch me first, Sharpe!"


	7. Chapter 7

Sweaty from their workout, Sara and Ava touched down on the pitch. It had been a tie, much to both girls' disdain. But, the purpose of the workout was to get rid of some frustration, so in that regard, the scrimmage had been a success. Both of them were panting with exertion as they walked to the locker rooms. Ava and Sara agreed to walk back to the Head dorm to grab their stuff before worrying about showering, as it was going to be dark soon, and neither of them fancied a walk back into the castle in darkness. Plus, it would soon be curfew, and while they were Head Students and the Prefect bathrooms (as Ava wished for the luxury of the Prefect bath, and figured that this way, Sara could use the Head dorm bathroom if she wished) where right across the corridor from the Head dorm. So they put their brooms in their respective locker rooms, grabbed their uniforms, towels, and water bottles, and began the trek back to the castle.

The walk started in relative silence, which was broken a few moments later by Ava. "So, how was you summer?" Sara looked over at her incredulously. "What?" Ava was suddenly defensive and self-conscious.

"Nothing, I was just surprised you asked, since we've never been ones to have a casual talk. We're usually too busy being at each other's throats," she joked.

Ava blushed and chuckled. "Yeah, well, we're kind of stuck with each other, so we should at least try to be… not friends, but maybe friend-_ly_?"

"That's probably a good idea. Well, my summer was fine. Helped my sister move into her new apartment with her boyfriend, spent a lot of time with them. Hung out with my friends over at Amaya and Charlie's a lot, so that was fun. Played a lot of quidditch; we're training Amaya and Charlie's sisters and Zari's brother to take our places after we graduate. Gotta keep the Legends team alive, you know?" Sara's eyes were bright and glistening with excitement and nostalgia. "Anyway, how was your summer?"

Ava's expression darkened, and her eyes turned to steel. "It was fine," she said curtly, shoving past Sara.

Sara's face took on a look of genuine concern. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's whatever, you know? If I was going to talk about it, I'd probably talk to my _actual_ friends, not you, anyway."

Sara's eyebrows shot up, and fire raged behind her electric blue eyes. "No way, you are not getting out of this that easy." Her hand shot out to grab Ava's wrist, forcing her to stop and turn to face Sara. "Look, I get that you're going through some shit right now, but that doesn't give you the right to be a dick or shut me out, got it?"

Ava's face took on a meek look, and she busied herself with studying her sneakers. She took a deep breath before lifting her gaze to Sara's again, where she was shocked to find patience and kindness, rather than the hardness and/or pity Ava had been expecting. "I'm sorry. I know I've been all over the place today. You're right, it doesn't give me the right to be an ass."

Sara gave Ava a crooked grin. "I believe I said you were being a dick, not an ass. And could you repeat that bit about me being right for me please? I want to get a recording, so I can treasure this moment forever."

Ava gave Sara a grin and a shove, before they turned and continued their trek to the castle.

When they were just outside the main doors, Sara spoke up. "I know talking about it is hard, but I've found that a good way to work through stuff is to talk to someone who isn't a friend. Friends try to fix everything and you have to see their pity, because they care just so _damn _much. Talking to someone who doesn't care so much, I've found, is really helpful if you just want to get something off your chest. And I promise: I _don't _care about you," Sara finished with a teasing, but light, smile.

Ava returned Sara's smile. After a moment of silence, she asked, "Is that what you do?"

"Oh yeah. Why do you think we keep Constantine around?"

Ava snorted, and then busted up laughing, and Sara laughed right along.

When they had finished laughing, Sara fixed Ava with a pointed look. She sighed.

"Okay, but you can't _ever_ tell _anyone_. Got it?"

Sara held out a pinky finger. Ava looked at it, confused.

"It's a muggle thing, called a pinky swear. You link pinkies to seal a promise."

"Like an unbreakable vow?"

Sara laughed. "No, there's no magic involved, it's just a special promise."

"Then what's the point?"

"Just do it, you dork. It's one more muggle thing to spite your family…"

At this, Ava smiled, and linked her pinky with Sara's. Sara shook it up and down once, like a handshake, before releasing pinkies. Ava was puzzled at the electric tingling sensation in her finger where they'd been locked together, but decided to ignore it and focus on telling Sara about her family.

"So, you know how I told you that my family are all pureblood snobs?" Sara snorted, and Ava smiled before continuing. "Well, they're like that about everything different. And my sisters - we're triplets, so it triple sucks - are the perfect models of my parents' wishes. They're charismatic and charming and effortlessly smart and… straight. They're the reason I left Beauxbatons; I couldn't stand being the 'defective' one in a matched, otherwise perfect, set. I'm socially awkward and I have to work for my grades, and I'm gay. I came out to my parents this summer, and my sisters already knew I liked girls, but I don't think they knew that I was a lesbian. So none of them took it well. My mother especially; my father doesn't really care, he's always at work anyway. My mother told me to 'get out of her sight', so I left. I had turned 17 a couple weeks before, so I used magic to pack up all my stuff that I needed into my trunk and I grabbed my owl and I apparated to Gary's. He and Mona are both muggle-born, and I guess my mother launched an 'investigation into my indiscretions', since she didn't want me 'tarnishing the family name', and she found out that I was friends with Gary and Mona, and that I'd been staying at Gary's for the last half of the summer."

Ava took a deep inhale. They were right outside the Head dorm. Sara spoke the password, and they went inside. Ava collapsed on one of the couches, lying fully on the couch. Sara took up residence in one of the armchairs, waiting patiently. When Ava didn't speak for a minute, Sara prompted her, "So what happened today?"

Ava sighed. "This morning, at breakfast, I received a letter from my mother informing me that I had been disowned and disinherited. The remainder of my personal items have apparently been packed and shipped, or at least will be in the next few days, and my mother is offering me a severance payment to use for housing after I graduate."

Sara gasped. "Holy fuck."

"Yeah, I know." Bitterness seeped into Ava's voice. "Get why I was so pissy today?"

"Yeah, you had every right to be. Holy shit. This whole time, I thought your life at home was just as perfect as your life here."

Ava snorted. "What the hell made you think my life - any aspect of my life - was perfect?" She pushed herself up on her elbows to actually look at Sara.

Sara met her gaze, before throwing her hands up in the air dramatically. "I don't fucking know! Now that I know more about you, I know you're a disaster!" Ava laughed at this. Sara continued, "I guess it was the perfect bun and the perfect posture and the perfect grammar and the perfect grades…"

"Alright, I get the point. Those probably developed as defense mechanisms to help me get through my restrictive home life." Sara fixed her with an odd look. "Mona's mom is a muggle psychologist, and Mona talked me through some stuff this summer," Ava explained.

"Well, I know I said I didn't care about you earlier," Sara teased, "but I think you're really tough and brave to defy your family like that, and I'm really sorry you're going through this. It sucks."

"Yeah, it does."

They sat in companionable silence for a moment, before Sara shot up from her seat. The movement startled Ava, who looked at her, puzzled.

"Shit! I'm gonna be late!" She dashed up the stairs and into her room. When she exited about a moment later, she leaned over the railing of the loft to look down to Ava. "Mind if I take first shower?"

Dazed and confused by the sudden change of pace, Ava nodded. "Yeah, uh, sure, no problem."

"Thanks!" Sara raced into the bathroom.

No more than seven minutes later, Sara emerged from the bathroom in a pair of black leggings and a dark red tank-top, with a dark grey sports bra underneath, the straps of which could be seen poking out on her shoulders from where the tank top didn't hide them. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, still slightly damp. She pulled on her boots, waved goodbye to Ava, and dashed out of the room, still leaving Ava puzzled.

Ava shook herself out of it, and made for the door, in an attempt to figure out what Sara was up to.

By the time she made it into the corridor, Sara had disappeared.


	8. Chapter 8

Sara had been so caught up with talking to Ava - and, let's be real here, studying the bead of sweat that had been slowly making its way from her brow, down her neck, over her collarbone, and… further. Sara may have her issues with Ava, but she wasn't blind, and Ava was _fucking hot_. But, more than that, she was truly content with chatting with Ava, as she was an excellent conversationalist and was just so _sincere_ and _soft_ and honestly it was making Sara kind of melt - she'd lost track of time. She only noticed the late hour when her mobile in her pocket buzzed. She looked at it discreetly from behind the pillow on her lap (she didn't want Ava to think she was rude; she'd probably stop being friendly with Sara in that case, which Sara wasn't willing to risk), and found that she had several missed messages from the groupchat, and that she had promised to meet up with her friends in just 10 minutes, and she still had to shower!

She bounded up, praising Merlin and Morgana that her new dorm wasn't far from her destination. She scrambled an apology to Ava, whom she had startled somewhat, and raced to her bedroom, then to the bathroom for the speediest shower of her life, drying her hair somewhat with her wand (she was in a rush and didn't have time to dry it all the way). She changed into comfortable clothing, grabbed her Invisibility Cloak she had won in a game of Exploding Snap a couple summers ago off of Constantine, and raced out the door, giving a speedy goodbye to Ava in the form of a short wave.

Once out in the corridor, she donned her cloak, and took off to the right of the statue outside her dorm.

She had disappeared around the corner by the time Ava had stepped out of their dorm (not that Ava would've been able to see her anyway), leaving Ava scratching her head in confusion.

Curfew was at 10 on weeknights, and it was currently 9:58. Ava knew that she couldn't really do anything to Sara about her skipping curfew (as Sara was the one person to whom she could not give detention), and she couldn't stop her, since she had already disappeared and she refused to break curfew herself, so she trudged back into the room.

She was _not_ going to let this go that easily.

**Legends and Co. Chat**

From: Heatwave

_Listen up, maggots; I just stole some drinks from the kitchens. I'm bringing butterbeer, brandy, and firewhiskey. There is one bottle with my name on it. If anyone so much as looks at it, I'll set you on fire and bask in your pain_

From: Steel

_Hold on, did Mick just use a semicolon and the word "bask" correctly?! WTF?! WHO ARE YOU?!_

From: The Last Airbender

_Please, I'm pretty sure Mick is more literate than you are pretty boy_

_Anyway, Mick: did you get any non-alcoholic butterbeer?_

From: Heatwave

_Still don't see the point in non-alcoholic butterbeer, but yeah, I got you a bottle_

From: Vixen

_Zari is Muslim, remember? No alcohol for religious reasons_

From: Heatwave

_Whatever. The point is I still stole the drinks she wanted_

From: Atom

_May I point out that the RoR already has alcohol? Why did you have to steal any more?_

From: The Last Airbender

_Because it tastes better when it's contraband, duh_

From: Charlie Brown

_Cheers!_

From: Heatwave

_Here here_

Sara paced back and forth in front of the blank corridor wall, repeating in her mind _I need a place to talk to my friends_ a couple of times before a door materialized. With a triumphant and anticipatory grin, she opened the massive doors to find all of her best friends lounging about. The Room of Requirement had taken care to provide a cushioned floor, as well as several couches arranged around a central coffee table, upon which sat the stolen contraband drinks, courtesy of Mick, who was already a quarter of the way through his personal bottle of Firewhiskey. Music played in the background from an old radio, which Ray was fiddling with.

Sara was the last to arrive, and gave her apologies before she could be bombarded with mock guilt-tripping from her friends. All lounging in the middle of the cozy room sat all of Sara's closest friends: Nate and Amaya were draped over each other on one couch, and on another, Charlie and Zari did the same. Ray sat next to Nate, with Nate's feet in his lap, laughing at some joke Charlie had made. John was pouring out Firewhiskey for himself, Jax, and Gideon Hunter (Rip's younger sibling. They didn't hang out with the Legends and company outside of school, but they still considered them a friend).

Sara grinned as Mick raised his bottle in greeting, before John handed her a very full cup of Firewhiskey. Sara joined her friends on the floor as they began to talk about their first day, their schedules, any and everything, really.

"Did you guys see that Kendra is the new Defense prof?"

"Yeah, what the hell is that about? And did you see her ring? She and Carter obviously got engaged; I can't believe they didn't tell us!"

"Well, it was probably awkward after you dated her for like, what, 5 months when they were on a break?"

"RAY DID WHAT?!"

"Hey, shut up! Besides, Jax had a crush on her, too!"

"Hey man, don't bring me down with you. At least I never dated her."

"Sara, you definitely had a crush, right?"

"Not a crush, we just slept together that one time, months before you dated her."

"ET TU, SARA?!"

"Jesus Charlie chill the fuck out."

"No thanks, Z, I'd much prefer to figure out how the fuck that a: Sara ended up in bed with a woman who is now our professor, and b: how the fuck she went from a total babe like Sara -"

"Thank you."

"- to a total dork like Rayge over there!"

"I believe that Miss Saunders found Mr Palmer's dorkiness to be charming."

"Thank you, Gideon - hey, wait a minute!"

"Sorry bro, but you really are a dork."

"Hush, Nathaniel. Ray, you are wonderful… but even I can't wrap my mind around that relationship. Saunders is out of everyone's league here, with the exception of maybe Sara."

Things went about like that until after about an hour and four more drinks for everyone later. The group had fragmented, as different groups held their own conversations. Gideon and Ray were messing with the radio, while Zari laughed as she tried to teach a tipsy Charlie the Muggle chicken dance, which Zari claimed went with the beat of any song if you did it right. John and Mick were in a kind of drinking contest, and Amaya, Nate, Sara, and Jax discussed this year's "_Legend_ary prank".

"I'm just saying, it's our last year, and we should do it at the end of the year so we can go out with a bang!" Nate argued.

"But," Sara countered, "I'm in charge of the Yule Ball this year. I pick the theme, the band, the decorations." Amaya gave her a pointed look. "Okay, _Ava_ and I are in charge. But I still get half of the input, plus I'll know the entire setup. It's a perfect opportunity, and we'd be stupid to let it go to waste!"

"What would we even do with that, Sara? What opportunity is there?" Jax asked. "I mean, I'm all for it if you figure out something good."

"I think we could pull off like a big musical number with costumes and special effects - and before you tell me it sounds lame and like something Ray would come up with -"

"Hey!"

"- I think if we could find the right song, just the right mix of a bop, a jam, and a classic, that we could really pull this off! It's gotta be older, but upbeat and kinda dancy, and something that everyone could get into, you know? Like _Africa_ by Toto if it was more dancy?"

Just then, Charlie accidentally whacked the radio with her elbow as she attempted to perform the wing part of the chicken dance. The station changed, and the room got quiet as the radio played an infectious beat.

_Waterloo_

_I was defeated, you won the war_

_Waterloo_

_Promise to love you forevermore_

_Waterloo_

_Couldn't escape if I wanted to_

_Waterloo_

_Knowing my fate is to be with you_

_Whoa whoa whoa whoa_

_Waterloo_

Sara's eyes widened as she looked at Nate with raised eyebrows and a smirk.

"No, nonono not ABBA! It's so old!"

"But it's a classic, even I've heard of it!" Amaya countered.

"Hey, even I'm on board. It's dancy and fun," Jax added.

"And _Mamma Mia 2_ came out last year, so a lot of people are getting back into ABBA, and this song was in the movie!" Ray was exuberant.

"Why am I not surprised that you know that?"

"Shut up Z; let Rayge have his interests, no matter how weird they are."

The whole group, seemingly in agreement (once Amaya turned her doe eyes and puppy pout on Nate, making him cave quickly), turned to John and Mick, who had been so immersed in their drinking game, they had been oblivious to the arguing around them.

"Oi, what's the staring for, luv?" John slurred at Sara, which earned him a cuff on the back of the head from said blonde.

"We want to perform _Waterloo_ at the Yule Ball. You guys in?"

"I love a good war seen, pet, so I'll be there."

"Mick?" Sara was most worried about his response. Luckily, John seemed to fundamentally misunderstand what she meant by "_Waterloo_", so she was hoping that Mick would, too.

"Someone said war, so count me in."

"But that's not -" Ray started, before Zari, being the closest sober person, clapped a hand over his mouth, effectively shutting him up.

"Alright, let's sign the Prank Proposal!" Charlie cried out as Zari flicked her wand, conjuring a piece of parchment, already covered in ink from the general Prank Proposal format that they'd all come up with a few years ago. She also conjured a quill and ink, and poised herself to write as Sara, as the leader, dictated the words of the proposal. Once finished, everyone in the group (save Gideon, who was sworn to secrecy, and would be recording the prank on their phone and with a wizarding camera, so it could be remembered for posterity) signed the contract.

Sara pulled out her wand, muttered an incantation under her breath, and tapped her wand once in the middle of the parchment. The black ink glowed gold for a second, as did everyone's hand that was used to sign the marchment, binding them to the agreement, which could now only be disbanded by Sara, and only if Zari was present, as Sara was the leader and Zari was the Keeper of the Contract.

Once they had sealed the deal, so to speak, they each polished off one last drink, before heading back to their respective dorms for the night.

This year was going to be f-_ABBA_-ulous.


	9. Chapter 9

Sara woke up earlier than she normally did, which she described as 'an unreasonable hour to expect basic human functioning'. She checked her alarm clock, and found that it read 5:30. She tossed and turned until just before 6, when she gave up and threw the covers off of her and stood, stretching before she trudged to the bathroom. She didn't bother with her bathrobe, as she couldn't imagine anyone getting up as early as she was.

Sara, however, was very wrong about that. She had forgotten that Ava was a classic overachiever and was an _early bird gets the worm_ kind of gal.

So when Sara stepped out of the bathroom after a blissfully long shower, wrapped only in her crimson towel, with her hair still damp around her face, she was honestly shocked to find herself almost colliding with Ava in a similar state of undress.

Ava, after having confirmation the morning before that Sara did not wake up as early as she did, had just walked to the bathroom in her sports bra and boyshorts that she normally wore to go to sleep, and was similarly shocked at the near-collision with her dorm mate.

Now, while the two young ladies did not get along very well, with the minor exception of the last day, neither was blind, and each knew the other one was clearly attractive and fit.

Just how much, however, was surprising.

Ava subconsciously licked her lips as she gazed down at the shorter blonde, the smell of her wildflower-scented conditioner surrounding her, ensnaring her senses completely. Sara still had a thin layer of water coating her skin, and her towel did _very_ little to hide said skin.

Sara noticed Ava's wandering eyes, but was too busy using her own eyes to take in the sight before her. _Thank Merlin for Quidditch_, she thought as she took in Ava's toned biceps, broad shoulders, and perfect abs. Sara was practically drooling.

Neither of them made any move to step back for a long enough time to be considered inappropriate. Sara was the first to get her senses back, cocking a smirk and raising an eyebrow in a suggestive manner.

"Like what you see, Sharpe? If I'd known you'd be showering this early, I'd've invited you to join me."

Ava immediately took a step back as Sara's words registered and jarred her back to reality (her cheeks blazing almost as red as Sara's towel). She struggled to pull her facial features into an expression of distaste.

"In your dreams, Lance."

"Oh, it certainly will be now." Sara countered, which caused Ava's blush to deepen, and Sara's smirk to widen.

"Argh, whatever. You are so infuriating and insufferable. I thought we were past the animosity after last night?"

Sara made a show of looking Ava up and down. "Oh, this isn't animosity, just appreciation, darling." She gave Ava an exaggerated wink as she passed her.

Ava let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, and made to walk back into the bathroom, before hearing Sara speak again.

"Mmm, the rear is almost as enticing as the front!"

Ava sneered and rolled her eyes in response, causing Sara to laugh.

"No worries, I'm just teasing, Sweet Pea. Lighten up!"

"I am _not_ your 'Sweet Pea', let's make that very clear." Ava said, trying to sound threatening despite the blush that had taken over her cheeks.

"Sure, Honey. I'll be waiting to walk down to breakfast with you, my love." Sara winked again, and disappeared into her room before Ava could retaliate.

"Fuck," Ava swore. _Please tell me the pet names aren't going to become a thing,_ she thought desperately.

"Hey there Sunshine! Ready to go to breakfast?"

Ava groaned. She'd figured that Sara was going to make pet names a thing, but was hoping beyond hope that she'd get out of it.

Sara gave her a wicked smirk in response, and held out her arm ceremoniously for Ava to take. Ava looked at the arm, looked back at Sara, and snorted before pushing past Sara at the bottom of the stairs and approached the door. Just as she put her hand on the doorknob, she whirled around, accusation in her eyes, fixing Sara in her sights.

"So, what exactly were you doing around the castle last night past curfew?"

Sara's eyes widened ever so slightly, that Ava thought for a second she might have imagined it. Sara supposed she shouldn't be surprised that Ava remembered her excursion outside of the head dorm last night, but was hoping that if she flustered Ava enough with the pet names that she'd forget to bring it up this morning.

"Oh, Charlie asked me to tutor Esi in defense. Apparently Esi wants to surprise Amaya with her skills, and wanted a tutor who wasn't Charlie so it would be harder for Amaya to find out. So I went over to the Hufflepuff common room to meet Esi."

"Isn't Amaya _in_ Hufflepuff? That sounds like she's more likely to get caught in that common room, when she could've just gone to Slytherin with Charlie, right?" Ava's eyes narrowed.

_Damn, she really doesn't miss a beat_, Sara thought. "Amaya was with Nate in Gryffindor last night, actually."

"Isn't _that_ against the rules? You're head girl, you should've said something!"

"Actually, it's not against the rules. First of all, they're both prefects. Second of all, they weren't wandering the halls, past curfew, since Amaya just stayed overnight with Nate. Neither of them were in the corridors after curfew, ergo, no rules broken."

"But you were in the corridors past curfew, _ergo_," Ava countered, echoing Sara's word choice, "some rules _were_ broken. How do you explain that?"

"I crashed in Amaya's bed, of course." Sara bluffed. She had gotten in really late last night, and hadn't heard any stirring from Ava's room when she put her ear against the door, and she had securely locked her door to ensure privacy at all times, plus she'd gotten up before Ava this morning. The only way Ava could have proof was if she was awake when Sara got back, and judging by the quiet snoring coming from her room when Sara checked to make sure she hadn't noticed her arrival, that was not the case. "Is this interrogation over now?"

Ava huffed. She didn't believe Sara, not for one second, but she didn't have any proof to confront her with. With another frustrated sigh, she opened the door and stepped out into the corridor to walk down to breakfast. Sara was hot on her heels, despite that breakfast was only just beginning to be served, and would continue to be served for the next hour and a half, so it's not like they were late.

Ava chuckled inwardly despite herself at the eager look on Sara's face as they approached the Great Hall.

_You're cute_, she thought at Sara, before realizing what she'd thought and mentally slapping herself.

Ray was already sitting at the group's normal seats by the time Sara arrived. He'd woken early as well, though earlier than Sara had. After getting ready, he decided to relax in the Ravenclaw common room until breakfast would be served. Usually it was either him or Amaya that would get to their seat at their normal table to save spots for the entire group (not that anyone would take the Legends' spots, but it was better to be prepared, as Ray's Eagle Scout training had taught him pre-Hogwarts).

He'd been looking over some of his notes from the previous day's classes when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Ray turned to find Nora Darhk standing behind him, wearing her Ravenclaw uniform with a skirt, her shirt untucked under a sweater vest, her tie loose, and her hair still damp from her shower and smelling of berries from her shampoo, which Ray tried desperately not to sniff as he stood with a grin in Nora's direction, which she shyly returned.

"Wanna walk down to breakfast? They start serving soon," Nora began, "uh, and I, ah, like talking and hanging out with you." She blushed, ever so slightly.

_I'd go with you anywhere_, Ray thought, unbidden. It was surprising, the intensity of his affection for Nora, but Ray had always been a passionate person. He decided to instead say something a little less intense: "Yeah, sure! I'd love to!" he gushed.

Nora looked up at him, thought to herself, _he's like a big, over enthusiastic puppy_. She awkwardly hugged him, which Ray was more than happy to return as he inhaled the intoxicating scent of her shampoo, and she the riveting smell of his deodorant.

The hug probably lasted longer than platonic standards typically called for, but neither noticed or much cared. When they pulled away, Ray gave her a toothy grin before turning to pack up his notes, while Nora blushed and checked her racing pulse while Ray's back was turned. When Ray was finished, they went to leave, Ray holding the door for Nora and escorting her past him with a hand on her lower back, sending tingles up her spine at his touch.

So they walked to the Great Hall, talking about anything. They sat at Ray's normal spot as the conversation flowed.

"Did you see that Kendra Saunders is the new Defense professor? None of us have heard from her in ages!"

"Yeah, she's a nice professor, though I never knew her when she was a student. But didn't you date her?" Nora tried desperately to keep the bitterness out of her voice as she attempted to shove her jealousy to the back of her mind.

"Yeah, but not for long. I think it was just a rebound anyway, for both of us. She had just broken up with Carter, and Anna had just moved to America and transferred to Ilvermorny, so I guess it was kinda convenient for us both? I liked Kendra, but it never would've worked long term or anything."

Nora tried not to let her heart soar at knowing that Ray didn't harbor any feelings for Kendra, but her face fell at the mention of Anna. Everyone had known about Ray and Anna, who had dated from second year through fourth year, only breaking up right before fifth year when Anna and her family had to move to America when Anna's mother got a job at the Magical Congress of the United States of America.

"But I'm totally over Anna. It's been 2 years, and we'd been drifting at the end anyway. Sorry, you don't want to hear about my failed romantic past, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't've even brought up Kendra, I -" Ray was started to ramble, so Nora cut him off.

"It's okay. I've just never dated before, so I don't really have anything to say on the subject, you know?" Nora's eyes showed just a little insecurity. "But I like talking to you, so I'm willing to listen if you want to talk about it."

"No, that's okay, we should change the topic." Ray paused a moment as Nora's words sunk in. "But hold on, really? You've never dated before?"

"So you need motive, means, and opportunity for dating, right? Someone who wants to date you, some kind of common interest to do on a date, and the time that someone asks you out. So I'm so focused on my schoolwork, so there goes 90% of means. My overprotective older brother makes sure that there is no way for anyone to ask me out. So two out of the three qualifying factors have been eliminated. As for motive, well, I can't imagine anyone going for the small, quiet, bitter-about-life-circumstances girl who does her damndest to be left alone by most of the population."

"That's crazy!" Nora's eyes darkened at Ray's exclamation.

"Are you saying I'm crazy? Or that I'm wrong? Because I guarantee I'm not either."

"No, what I meant was, it's crazy that there's no motive to date you! You're smart and funny and witty and pretty and kind! Just being around you is awesome! Anyone would be lucky just to stand in your general vicinity!"

Nora's eyes softened, before she cocked an eyebrow. "Well, don't press _your_ luck too much, Raymond Palmer." She said with an uncharacteristic wink. She just felt bold today. Nora stood, having spotted Ava and Sara making their way over. Nora gave Ray a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks for hanging out with me this morning."

Ray, slightly dazed, responded with a hum. "Yeah, uh, anytime."

"See you tonight for studying?"

"Yeah," Ray said dazily.

Nora grinned and walked over to Ava, and they sat at their own table as Sara went to sit across from Ray.

"What's with the Dopey Eyes?"

"Ray's got it bad for Nora Darhk."

Ray jumped. "Screw you Z, where the hell did you even come from?!"


	10. Chapter 10

The rest of breakfast was eventful. Nate and Ray got into a small food fight with the hashbrowns, but it ended abruptly when someone (Probably Nate) hit Zari. Zari's expression darkened as she informed the boys that they had two options: cease and desist the food fight, or she promised obliterate them. They knew she was a woman of her word, and if they didn't lose the food fight to her, she would get them back in some other unspeakable way. Ray and Nate shuddered at the thought of what that could be, so they conceded and stopped the "hash brown massacre" as Amaya nicknamed it.

Sara laughed at her friends' antics and took plenty of photos on her phone of the food fight to send to the group chat later. She felt eyes on her, and stealthily looked around before making eye contact with a sheepish-looking Ava, who averted her eyes immediately after Sara's gaze met hers. Sara didn't break her eye contact, instead looking right at her until Ava made eye contact again. When their eyes met again, Sara cocked one eyebrow teasingly (and a little seductively, though she would later deny it when confronted by Zari and Amaya). Ava blushed furiously and discreetly flipped Sara off before pointedly looking anywhere but at Sara. Sara laughed before turning back to her friends, not missing the knowing look on Amaya, Charlie, Zari, and Gideon's faces, but choosing to ignore them for the time being.

"Hey, Captain, I was wondering if I could ask you a question about Prefect-slash-Head-Girl stuff?" Ray asked.

"Sure, what's up?"

Ray's eyes lit up with excitement and anticipation as he shared his idea.

"Okay, that actually sounds not totally lame. I'll have to check with Ava first, and then McGonagall, but I think it's doable. I'll get back to you on that."

"Awesome! Thanks Sara!"

Sara clicked her tongue as she gave her trademarked finger guns. Glancing down at her watch, she realized with a start that she had only five minutes until class, and her first period was Potions in the dungeons, a long walk from the Great Hall.

"Shit!" Sara shot up, grabbed her bag, and raced out of the Hall. She full on sprinted to the stairs, jumping over the bottom four steps on each staircase to land on the landing in order to save time. She burst into the classroom with three seconds to spare.

"Cutting it a bit close today are we, Miss Lance?"

"Sorry Sir, I lost track of time at breakfast."

"Well, you aren't technically late. Have a seat."

Sara walked over to her seat (she'd been assigned to work with Ava) and collapsed into it, mildly fatigued from the adrenaline surge of her earlier panic and from all the stairs on the way to the dungeons. Ava snickered at her, and Sara glared back.

"You could've gotten me and we could've walked here together, you know," Sara whispered once Slughorn's lecture began.

Ava waited for a lull in the lesson before replying with a sly grin. "But you seemed to be having a _riveting_ discussion with Mr. Palmer, so I didn't want to interrupt."

Sara made a face. "Actually, if you must know, Ray had a really good idea, and wanted to clear it with me so I could clear it with you and the Headmistress before the Prefect meeting at the end of the week. So I was taking my _job_ seriously, not that you'd ever believe that."

Ava's face registered surprise, before her expression turned somewhat… meek? "Oh."

Sara fixed her with a look. _Not good enough, Sharpie._

Ava clearly understood what that look meant, and continued. "I'm sorry, I should've waited for you. It was wrong of me to assume you were goofing off this morning."

Sara nodded, accepting the apology, as Ava's tone had been genuine in her reply.

This time, it was Ava's turn to fix Sara with a look. Sara stared back, confusion evident on her freckled features. Ava sighed impatiently.

"Sooooo, what was Mr. Palmer's idea?"

"Oh! Yeah, it was really good, and not completely lame or geeky like Ray's ideas usually are," Sara started with a teasing tone. "I'll tell you when we walk to Transfiguration."

Ava nodded, and she and Sara turned back to Slughorn as he appeared with the potion they'd be studying.

Charlie and Zari had a free period right after their first class, which was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Kendra. Charlie had bristled as Kendra had chatted casually with Zari. They hadn't met before Kendra graduated, but Zari had heard stories from the Legends about Kendra, and Kendra got a letter from Sara every other week detailing their goings-on, so Kendra knew a good amount about Zari as well. They hadn't gotten a chance to talk yesterday, so they were making up for it now.

Charlie felt instantly jealous as the two women exchanged tales before class began. She hadn't felt this intensely tense since Amaya was single and Zari was fawning over her. Soon, it was time for class to begin, and Kendra began her opening remarks for the day.

"Hey, why the sour face? You look like you're about to tear Kendra's head off," Zari whispered.

"Sorry, I, ah, have a headache this morning. I'm just really tired." Charlie shrugged noncommittally as she desperately tried to relax her features.

Zari gave her a look, her features contorted into an expression of concern and compassion. Charlie practically buckled under the intensity of her caring gaze.

"What's wrong? You were tossing and turning all night, like you weren't sleeping. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just a bout of insomnia, nothing to worry your pretty head over."

Zari smirked. "You think I'm pretty?"

Charlie snorted and gave her friend's shoulder a playful shove.

"That didn't answer my question."

Charlie rolled her eyes and pretended to focus on the lesson. She scribbled something down on the corner of her parchment and quietly ripped it off the rest of the page, before slipping it into her pocket.

When class was over, they had a free period. Charlie had informed Zari that she intended to use the time to get herself in order for Quidditch tryouts for the Fugitives team (Charlie wasn't thrilled at some of the new prospects this year), so Zari wasn't surprised when Charlie didn't wait for her when class was over, instead giving Zari's shoulder a tap before she turned on her heel to leave.

What did surprise Zari, however, was the torn bit of parchment from before falling off her shoulder as she stood to leave. She crouched down and picked it up, unfolding it to reveal a message that said "I don't think you're pretty… I think you're gorgeous!" with a magically animated smiley face that winked and blew a kiss/heart every once and awhile. Zari blushed, hoping none of the other students who were milling about saw the parchment or her reaction. She folded the paper back up and slipped it into her robe pocket, making a mental note to thank Charlie later. She blushed again, and tried to hide her blush and shy smile from her classmates as she made her way out of the classroom.

Zari had decided that, instead of thanking Charlie, she would do something that was much more _them_; a retaliation, of sorts. Zari would return the gesture with something similarly saccharine and sappy. Knowing Charlie, she would likely do the same, and Zari figured that it would be a fun thing for the two Slytherin girls to do for their last year, something just them that they could remember forever.

So Zari got to work. She had gone to the Room of Requirement and asked for art supplies, and she shut herself away in there until she was finished. Admiring her handiwork, she decided that she'd slip her retaliation into Charlie's bag whenever she was distracted.

The perfect opportunity presented itself when Charlie got up to get whatever materials they would need for the day's potion. Zari made sure no one was looking before she "dropped" her quill between her and Charlie's bags, and she quickly transferred her gift from her bag into Charlie's. When she straightened, she checked once again to make sure no one saw. Everyone seemed to be oblivious of what she had done, especially Charlie, who was still retrieving supplies from the cabinets on the East wall of the classroom. Or, rather, _attempting_ to retrieve, as even on Charlie's tip-toes she was just barely too short to reach the bottle she was aiming for. With a good-natured sigh, Zari stood and strode over to where Charlie was struggling. She, being taller by a good three inches, was able to reach it easily.

Charlie stiffened for a moment when someone's front brushed against her back, before the smell of cinnamon and vanilla invaded her nose. She knew that scent; it was her Zari.

My _Zari? When did I start calling her '_my _Zari'?_ She asked herself briefly, before she decided that she liked the idea of _her_ Zari, and decided not to question or fight it. Instead, she snaked her arms back behind her to grab at Zari's waist, before leaning back into her.

"My hero," Charlie swooned mockingly as she tilted her head back to rest on Zari's shoulder, swiveling her head to wink at Zari, who snorted at her jest. Zari bumped her friend with her shoulder and, having obtained the powdered bat wings from the shelf, turned to return to her desk, a lopsided grin and a slight blush betraying her amusement at Charlie's antics and her anticipation of Charlie finding her "gift".

BOOM!

Charlie's face was frozen in a state of shock for a split second, before she turned to Zari and laughed, confetti and glitter swirling around her like a halo of color. Zari's thumb clicked the camera button on her phone, capturing a picture of Charlie's surprise, as well as a really good one of Charlie laughing, with her head thrown back and her eyes closed, which looked so amazing that Zari almost wanted to make it her phone lock screen.

Her other friends roared with laughter, Nate having caught the entire thing on video, which was being uploaded to the chat.

On the table in front of Charlie was a bright red paper heart card, the edges done with pink lace. The outside said "I think you're pretty, too…", and the inside of the card said "Your eyes practically glitter!" Charlie blushed at the message on the card, thinking back to her little piece of paper from earlier fondly, and shook her head to hide her flushed cheeks. Luckily, the others were too busy laughing themselves to tears to notice.

Charlie looked up and made eye contact with Zari, who gave her a wicked smirk and an exaggerated wink. Charlie scrunched up her nose in a good-natured mocking way, before returning the grin.

_Oh, Z. You ain't seen nothing yet._

Ava looked over to where the Legends and Co. sat, jumping at the loud noise that seemed to reverberate through the Great Hall, before the silence was broken by an uproar of laughter from the Legends. Ava caught a glimpse of Sara, her nose scrunched up adorably as glitter and confetti showered her with shimmering colors, laughing along with her best friends.

Ava felt a pull in her chest. A pang of something… was it jealousy, at Sara's carefree nature and antics with her friends as they let loose? Or was it longing to make Sara smile and laugh with her in the same way as she did now?

As much as Ava tried to convince herself otherwise, she knew it was a little bit of jealousy, and a _whole lot_ of longing.


	11. Chapter 11

Throughout the remainder of the week, all of Hogwarts fell into a routine. Class, meals, hanging out by the lake when the weather permitted, homework, and rounds for the Prefects and Head Girls. Soon, it was Friday evening. Sara was buzzing with anticipation. She just had a Prefect meeting, and then she'd be free for the weekend. Since she had finished all of her homework over the course of the week (Sara firmly believed that weekends should only be used for fun and relaxation, and Quidditch, of course), she had scheduled Quidditch practice for Saturday afternoon, and would spend the rest of the weekend planning some minor (well, at least, minor for the Legends) pranks to liven up the school year. Sara fully planned on going out with a bang, and she didn't want to lull Hogwarts into a sense of complacency just yet.

Sara, in an attempt to control her fidgeting, decided to play a video game that she had brought with her. Ever since McGonagall, Flitwick, and Stein figured out how to configure Hogwarts to no longer force modern Muggle tech to malfunction, Zari had brought some video games from home and distributed them amongst the group of friends ("to make sure I have some real competition for once," she reasoned. "I love Behrad, but he does _not_ put up much of a fight against my superior skill"). Sara was playing Mario Kart while lounging on the common room couch when Ava walked in, greeting her with a tired grunt.

Sara raised an eyebrow. "How about we try that greeting again? You know, normal human beings say 'hey, how are you, how was your day' rather than giving a half-assed greeting that sounds like Mick right before he passes out from too much Firewhiskey."

Ava slouched her bag off of her shoulder next to the other couch, before collapsing face down and groaning. She said something incoherent, as it was muffled by the couch. Sara just waited patiently, and eventually Ava rolled over. Upon seeing Sara's anticipatory expression, she sighed and let out a puff of air from her lips to blow the hair out of her face. It didn't work, of course, and Ava swatted at her hair, clearly annoyed and frustrated.

Ava sat up on the couch with an apologetic grimace. "I'm sorry, I just had a study session with Gary and Nora and they are driving me crazy. I'm so panicked about NEWTs, and all they want to do is talk about _boys_. Argh!"

"So? I know you're not into guys, but you could talk to them about girls, I'm sure."

Ava gave Sara a look of disdain. "Please, dating is the furthest thing from my mind right now, what with my parents and classes and shit. Besides, they both have established crushes they want to talk about, and figure out their next move or whatever. Meanwhile, I probably couldn't get a date if I tried."

"First off, I definitely need to know who Green and Darhk are crushing on." Ava looked at Sara knowingly. "Nothing nefarious, I promise. I just love tea." Again, Ava looked confused. Sara groaned. "I am _so_ not explaining meme culture to you right now. Anyway: secondly, you could _totally_ get a date if you tried. You are smart, and pretty, and I don't say this lightly: _fit as hell_. Seriously, you are _hot_. And, if you take the stick out of your ass and actually let loose…" At this, Ava gave Sara a glare, which paired interestingly with the blush invading her cheeks and neck from Sara's previous compliments. "... you're actually super funny and nice. You're a good listener, and fun to talk to. Hell, if it weren't for our rivalry, I probably would've asked you out ages ago." Ava's blushed deepened as Sara began to blush as well.

Ava cleared her throat awkwardly, suddenly fascinated by the lining on the arm of the couch. "Oh, uh, thanks." Sara nodded, equally awkwardly. "The thing is, I don't know a lot of other gay girls, and I've never been able to really date because of my family, and -" Ava stopped abruptly, her eyes getting wide and her jaw slightly ajar, before turning into a… somewhat evil-looking smile as she looked back up at Sara.

Sara looked back, both surprised and worried (and, if she was being honest, a little turned on) at the cause of the wicked grin that graced Ava's lips (her very soft-looking lips, Sara subtly noted). "Whoa there, what are you thinking?"

"I can't believe I didn't think of it before! It's perfect! It's exactly the kind of petty revenge my sisters would pull and my mother wouldn't ever suspect! God, how could I be so blind?!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Sara exclaimed, becoming increasingly worried. Ava jumped off the couch with a clap of her hands, and plopped herself down next to Sara, taking her hand.

"Look, I know this is a lot to ask. And you can of course say no; I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything, but -"

"Ava, you have to actually tell me what you're thinking about before I can accept or deny."

Ava laughed nervously. "Of course, of course. Just getting ahead of myself as always." She took a deep breath. "I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend. Publicly."

Sara was dumbfounded. "Wait… what? Wh-why?"

"Think about it! My mom is obsessed with keeping up appearances for the 'sake of the Sharpe family name', so dating a Half-blood would really piss her off, even beyond just dating a girl. Word travels quickly around Hogwarts, and my sisters love to keep up on the gossip from all the magical schools, so they'd undoubtedly hear, and pass the information onto my mother. We'd just have to keep up pretenses. And, honestly, most Head Students get together anyway, so it's not like everyone would be completely floored. We do have a public rivalry, so we'd have to build up to it for a couple of weeks or so…"

Sara continued staring at her almost completely blankly, processing the truly inordinate amount of information assaulting her brain.

Before she could even stop herself, her mouth and vocal cords betrayed her. "Sure."

Now it was Ava's turn to be shocked. "Really?"

_Well, it's too late to turn back now._ "Yeah, sure, no big. I wasn't planning on really dating anyone this year because of NEWTs, so it's not going to put a cramp in my groove or whatever." _Cramp in your groove?! Well done, Lance; _that _was fucking smooth._

"God, you are a life-saver! We can use the weekend to get our story and plan in place, and I promise it won't last more than a few months. Just long enough to get back to my mother, and maybe even push her into giving me some of my former inheritance to help me get started after school ends. You'll be a free woman again before Christmas, I swear!"

Sara nodded, lips still pursed as her mind went into overdrive. She shut that shit down quickly, deciding to focus on one thing at a time. _Don't freak out until there's something to freak out about_, she told herself in an attempt to slow down her pulse.

_On the other hand, there are worse situations to be in. Like you said before, Ava is cute and smart and _fucking hot_, so maybe this is a blessing in disguise_, the traitor part of her brain replied.

_One thing at a time_.

"One thing at a time, though," Ava sighed. "We need to get to the Prefect meeting and help Ray present his plan." Ava stood, pulling Sara up with her by their joined hands (which, frankly, both girls had forgotten that they were holding). Sara came to stand abnormally close to Ava, looking up at the other girl, noticing her crystal blue eyes sparkling with… something indescribably. Ava looked deeply into Sara's eyes, like oceans crashing upon the surface of Ava's mind, begging her to let her in. Behind the lapping of the waves, Ava could see a growing worry, but also a determination. Sara's resolve had hardened, and she was clearly on board with Ava's idea. Ava breathed out a sigh of relief as Sara stepped back and let go of her hand, face flushing once more, before she turned and walked out of the common room and into the corridor beyond, Ava following close behind.


	12. Chapter 12

The first bit of the Prefects meeting passed without incident. No one had had any issues on their patrols yet, and only a few house points had been taken, as well as only a handful of detentions being doled out overall. Finally, it was almost time for Ray to present his idea. He was clearly nervous, bouncing his left leg erratically. About five minutes before he was due to present, he felt a hand on his knee. He stared at the hand for a minute, before gazing into the eyes of its owner to find Nora there, an encouraging smile and earnest eyes offering support. Ray gave a grateful smile back, and he stopped bouncing his leg, instead nervously taking Nora's hand in his. When she didn't remove her hand from his grasp for a bit, he relaxed somewhat, letting out a shaky breath as Nora drew comforting circles on the back of his hand with her thumb, and listened (although not necessarily processing) to what Ava was saying.

Sara took over from Ava a few minutes later. "Last order of business for the meeting: Ray Palmer had an idea about the Hogsmeade trips. Both Ava and I have approved his idea, and we consulted Headmistress McGonagall, and she gave her consent. So, Ray is going to present his idea, and if everyone agrees that it's a good one, we'll implement it. So, without further ado, Ray Palmer!"

Ray stood, reluctantly releasing Nora's hand, blushing due to his sweaty palms, which he subtly wiped off on his trousers. He maneuvered around the chairs before him and made his way to the front of the classroom they were using for the meeting. Upon arriving in the front, Sara gave him a fist bump and a thumbs up, as well as a whispered "You've got this." Ava also gave him an encouraging nod; they weren't friends, per se, but they'd been in the same House for years and harbored no ill will towards the other. He nodded back to them both and gave them a shy smile as they took their seats and Ray turned to face his audience.

"Hi! So, uh, there has been a decline in past years of student participation in school-sponsored events. Hogsmeade has been the only exception to that rule; even Quidditch really only draws diehard fans and friends of the players. Most of the teams don't even show up to matches that they aren't a part of, except for a few captains scoping out competition. And this year, we have the Yule Ball right before the winter holidays, and McGonagall wants student participation to be higher. So, I thought, since Hogsmeade trips are the only school events that everyone consistently participates in, that we could start encouraging more participation in the Hogsmeade trips."

"My idea was to do themes; in Muggle schools, they have these things called "spirit week" where every day of the week has a specific theme, like one day everyone wears school colors, and the next everyone wears pajamas to class. I thought we could apply that with Hogsmeade visits; give each one a theme. We could even make themes open to the student body to get input. I thought for the first one, we could do Camelot, like from King Arthur? Muggles have these things called "Renaissance faires" where they do a week where they set up stalls with potions and trinkets, and they do jousts and stuff, with really great costumes, and it's really cool. I thought we could do that for the first October Hogsmeade visit, and then do a Halloween theme for the other October visit."

Ray paused as everyone took in his suggestion. "So… what does everyone think?"

Gideon, Nora, Lily, and Mona all had excited smiles on their faces. Amaya and Nate, having already known about Rays idea, gave thumbs up, indicating to the other Prefects that they liked the idea. Zari shrugged, and nudged Wally and Jax on either side of her, and they seemed to agree that it was a good idea. Gary, who sat with Dez (John's boyfriend, if Ray remembered correctly) and Konane (Mona's boyfriend, who was giving him a pleading look to agree), nudged his two friends, and they all nodded in agreement. Only Damien Darhk, Eobard Thawne, and Cassandra Savage looked displeased with the idea, but they didn't seem to hate it, just moderate dislike.

Ava called for a vote, and all hands were raised in favor except for Damien, Eobard, and Cassandra. Ray let out a sigh of relief, and remained at the front of the room as Sara and Ava dismissed the rest of the group, waiting for Nora. Nora hung back until everyone else left, including Sara and Ava.

"Ray, I think this is an awesome idea! I've always loved the stories about Camelot; I think they're so interesting. Plus, it's the origin story of Merlin, who was like the founder of modern magic as we know it today! This is so cool!"

Ray blushed and gave Nora a bashful smile. "I'm really glad you like it! I was, uh, wondering, er, if you'd maybe want to go to the Camelot trip with me?"

Nora was surprised for a moment, and Ray started desperately backtracking. "I mean, you totally don't have to if you don't want to, I get it, I really do. I'm sorry if I made things weird or awkwa-"

Nora rolled her eyes and cut him off with a shove to his chest. "Yes, I would like that. What should I dress up as though? I don't really know much about the clothing styles or whatever; I prefer to read about the magic of Camelot." _And the love story, but Ray doesn't need to know that I'm a total sap_.

"Oh, uh, I have an old picture book in my dormitory, from when I was a kid. I can show you the basics and everything, if you like?"

"Lead the way."

Ray grinned and bowed, before offering his arm to her. "Lady Nora," he addressed her.

"Sir Raymond," She responded with a hearty laugh and a smirk as she took his arm, and together, they made their way back to Ravenclaw tower, chatting and joking and laughing.

They came to the Eagle knocker at the door. It creaked to life, before providing the riddle.

_Tear off one and scratch its head; what was red now black instead. What is it?_

Ray was clearly puzzled, his brow furrowed (quite adorably, in Nora's opinion). "Maybe it's a flower? Is there a flower that has red petals and a black center?" Ray pulled out his phone and typed a few words. "An Anemone St Brigid the Governor?"

The knocker didn't move at all. "Damn. Don't worry, I'll get it soon, just give me a moment to think."

"Ray, you're taking it too literally," Nora chided gently. "It's a match."

The door swung open, as did Ray's mouth as his jaw fell. He knew Nora was bright, but he'd never been stumped by the door before. It made him admire her even more, if that was possible.

"Well don't look so surprised, I am in Ravenclaw, too, after all." Nora's tone was annoyed. She hadn't anticipated Ray being threatened by her wit, but most guys at Hogwarts were. She was disappointed; she'd thought Ray was different. She made to storm past him into the common room, but he stopped her by taking her hand and spinning her to face him.

"Whoa, slow down there. I wasn't surprised, I was awestruck. I think you're amazing, and I was just floored by getting to see you in action." Ray's cheeks heated up, and as his words sunk in, Nora's did, too.

"Oh. Sorry, I shouldn't've assumed." Nora sighed. "It's just that every guy I know, except Gary, of course, has been intimidated whenever I do something better than them. It's not just Damien that prevents me from getting a date; I scare guys off." Nora studied her shoes.

Ray chuckled slightly, a deep rumbling sound that seemed to reverberate through Nora. He took her chin in his free hand and angled her face towards his, staring deeply into her gorgeous emerald eyes. "You clearly have been talking to the wrong guys, because you are beyond amazing and anyone should be happy to be within a kilometer radius of you." His eyes shone with admiration, before he looked away as his blush deepened, and he held the door open for Nora as she stepped in, his hand lightly touching her lower back as she passed him, ever the gentleman.

Once inside the empty common room, Ray took Nora's hand again and pulled her towards the stairs, leading her up to his dorm to get the book they had planned to look at.

Once there, Ray gestured to his bunk. "Home, sweet home," he commented cheerfully.

Ray's bed was tucked into an arched alcove in the wall, just like the rest of the beds in the cylindrical tower. The curtains, which could be pulled around the alcove to obscure the alcove from the rest of the room, were left open, and tied to hooks in the wall on either side of the arch.

On the left side of the alcove, perpendicular to the wall, was a dresser/wardrobe combination, and on the right side, facing the dresser, was a bookshelf, with a desk facing away from the wardrobe up against that, as well as a desk chair. Tucked into the alcove was Ray's bed, parallel to and against the window, the blue and bronze wide striped curtains around which were pulled to the side, allowing for the low evening sun to illuminate the space. On the other side of the bed than the window sat a nightstand with a reading lamp. At the foot of the bed was a chest, with a few extra blankets on top, with a navy bean-bag chair tucked between the chest and the wall of the alcove. Ray's comforter was Ravenclaw blue, and his sheets were narrowly striped with Ravenclaw blue and bronze, with a matching blue pillowcase and a navy blue pillow-seat. Personalization of the space came in the form of small glow-in-the-dark stars dotting the ceiling of the alcove, arranged in little constellations, as well as a poster for the American space program NASA on the wall opposite from the headboard of the bed, and a few posters of several superheroes (Wonder Woman, Superman, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, and Batman) on the wall above his headboard. Sitting on top of the pillow was a stuffed eagle plushie, which Nora picked up before turning to face Ray, who was perusing the bookshelf for the book (and shooting glances at Nora as she studied his space). She cocked an eyebrow at him, before shaking the plush eagle questioningly.

Ray blushed once more. "That's, uh, Arnie. My mom got him for me first year. I wrote home and explained the sorting, and how it was my mascot. She got a snake for Sydney, too."

"Arnie? Interesting name. How'd you decide?"

"Arnie is short for Arnold, which means 'power of an eagle', so it just kinda fit. My dad's middle name was Arnold, and he'd bragged about how his name was powerful, considering his middle name, and because his first name was David, like the David and Goliath story." Nora gave him a puzzled look. "Oh, sorry. There's a muggle story about this massive guy named Goliath, and he keeps challenging this village to send out their strongest warrior to fight him, and they keep losing. This guy David isn't very strong, but soon he's the strongest one left, as the others were defeated by Goliath. So David fights him and takes him down with like a slingshot or something, I think? Anyway, it's used as a metaphor for overcoming big struggles in one's life. I like the name Arnie for him, and it became even more fitting after my dad died." Ray's face turned solemn for a moment, before turning back to the bookshelf to resume his search for the Camelot book.

Nora nodded, clearly still confused, but somewhat less so, and not wanting to poke into Ray's personal past with his father; after losing her own mother, Nora understood just wanting to move on from it all.. She set Arnie back down on Ray's pillow, gently, giving him a pat on the head and smoothing his wings for good measure.

Ray found the book, and shook it in triumph after pulling it off the shelf. He turned back to Nora with a grin, the previous conversation far from his mind, replaced instead with the excitement of sharing his passion with Nora. Ray loved the stories of Camelot and King Arthur. His mother read those stories to him every night when he was young, and he had watched the _Merlin_ BBC show and had adored it.

Ray gestured for Nora to take a seat on the bed, and he plopped himself down next to her as he opened the book to an illustration of a marketplace, with people milling about to and fro, for Nora to see. Nora ran her fingers over the page as she squinted somewhat at it, unable to completely make out the details of their outfits. Ray, who was watching Nora intently, noticed this.

"Maybe this wasn't the best way to show you Camelot fashion. I have another idea, though, if you're willing?"

Nora looked back at him, into his eyes, shining with excitement and anticipation, and nodded her consent. Ray jumped up from the bed, startling Nora somewhat, and closed the book with a snap. He replaced the book back onto the shelf, before turning back to Nora and stretching out a hand, which she took, and he pulled her up from the bed. He underestimated his strength, fueled by his excitement, and he pulled Nora up with a little too much force a little too quickly. She landed against his hard chest with an "oof", and his hands went to her hips and hers to his chest to steady her. Both shocked, they didn't move away for several moments too long. Nora's breathing quickened, and Ray's slowed as he inhaled the scent of Nora's berry shampoo, his hands tightening slightly on her hips. Her hands, slowly and almost unconsciously, made their way from his pecs to his shoulders and around the back of his neck, playing slightly with the hair at the nape there. Nora took her eyes off of his chest and directed them up to his eyes, the chocolate color of them giving her a sense of home as he gazed back into the sea of emotions behind her own eyes. Ray began to lean his face closer, frustratingly slowly. Once he got close, he closed his eyes, and Nora's fluttered closed as well.

_BANG!_

The door to the dormitory shot open as Cisco Ramon and Barry Allen walked in, debating the merits of superpowers ("Dude, superspeed is totally the way to go." "No way. I'd much prefer to get visions of the future, the past, and be able to access alternate realities. How fucking cool would that be?"). Ray and Nora jumped apart. Ray's hand shot up to the back of his neck, feeling where Nora's fingers had been playing with the hairs there, but playing it off as a nervous gesture. Barry and Cisco didn't seem to notice the exchange, too caught up in their argument ("You know what, we should ask Caitlyn; I'm sure she'd agree with me." "Nah, she'll just say something about ice powers, and you know Ronnie won't be any help.") to even acknowledge Ray and Nora's presence.

Ray willed his blush to leave his cheeks as he extended his hand to Nora again, and he led her from the dorm and out of Ravenclaw tower.

"Ray, where are we going?"

"It's a secret," he replied with a mischievous grin. "But it'll have everything we could possibly require."


	13. Chapter 13

After Sara and Ava left the prefect meeting, only leaving behind Ray and Nora (Sara had intentionally blocked Nora's path until everyone else had left, in order to give her and Ray some alone time), they made their way back to their dorm to formulate a plan for Ava's fake dating scheme, or Operation Camelot, as Sara dubbed it in her head.

Now that the meeting was over, Sara's head resumed its spinning. Would she really be able to do this? She'd had casual things in the past, and yeah, Ava was cute and hot, but she was also smart and funny and kind and… shit. _Am I catching feelings for Ava Sharpe?_ It'd only been a week since school started, not even a full week, as September 1st had been on Sunday, and it was only Friday now. But being in such close quarters with Ava, with living together and having all the same classes and sharing rounds, Sara had found herself laughing along with Ava as one of them told a story about their friends ("Seriously?! How did Gary even manage that?!" "I don't know, we were in the Forbidden Forest hanging out and a unicorn came up and bit off his nipple! I've never seen anything like that in my life!"), or practicing Quidditch, or even just working on homework together had been pleasant. They weren't quite friends, not yet anyway, but they did share a sense of camaraderie that certainly hadn't been there a week ago.

_Maybe this could be a stepping stone to friendship?_ Sara wondered as they navigated the moving staircases in silence. _It's a weird order to go about things: rivals to coworkers to fake-girlfriends to actual friends, but what the hell. Since when did a Legend do anything conventionally?_

By the time they reached the Head Dormitory, Sara had resolved to make sure that they would have an amicable "breakup", and they would be friends afterwards. They had three weeks to sow the seeds of pre-dating, and they would come forwards as a couple on the Camelot Hogsmeade trip, as was discussed before the meeting. Three weeks to get their shit in order.

Sara could do that.

_Ugh, I cannot do this,_ Ava lamented as she and Sara sat on the common room couches, trying to figure out their plan.

"Don't roll your eyes. It's going to look weird if I'm never touching you! I have to hold your hand, or put my hand on your back, or tuck your hair behind your ear; it's how you seduce someone!"

"This isn't seduction, Sara!"

"Well, we can't just jump from constantly fighting to dating, now can we? One of us needs to take public interest in the other in some form or another, and the easiest way to do that is PDA! God, you are such a prude."

Ava scoffed. "I am _not_ a prude." Sara fixed her with a mock-questioning eyebrow raise. "Okay, maybe I'm not exactly flamboyant about my relationships, but I did once kiss Jess in the Great Hall! That's something!"

Now it was Sara's turn to scoff. "Please, that's nothing. I made out with Nyssa on the professor's table in the Hall. Ollie and I used to make out in the Quidditch stands. John and I were almost caught in an abandoned classroom one night, Anne once shoved her tongue down my throat during Potions, and Gwen and I were caught in broom cupboards, _repeatedly_," Sara stressed. "The point is, I have a reputation to live up to, and no one is going to believe that _I_ am dating _you_ if I'm not fucking acting like it!"

Ava let out a defeated sigh. "I guess you're right. I'm just not comfortable with that right now. But I suppose I'll need to get comfortable with it really soon in order to pull this off."

Sara frustratedly ruffled her hair, which was hanging in its natural soft, loose waves around her face and down to just past her shoulders, pulling her fingers through the strands, though careful not to catch her hair on her many rings on her lithe fingers. "Look, what if we eased into it? A hand on your arm one day, then on your hand another, then your knee, then your cheek… see what I'm getting at?"

"That could work," Ava mused. "But what about all the… other, for lack of a better term, stuff? If I struggle with holding hands, imagine how adverse I am to making out. For Merlin's sake, I haven't even kissed anyone since Jess, and that was two years ago! How am I supposed to do this?" Ava was spiraling quickly.

Before she knew it, Sara was on the couch next to her, facing her with a concerned look. "Hey, it's alright. Look, I know this is a lot to think about, and it's never too late to change your mind or turn back, okay?" Ava shook her head. She was determined to see this through; she couldn't just stand by and tolerate her family's bullying bullshit anymore. Sara could see this resolve evident in her eyes, and continued with a small sigh. "In that case, we'll just have to practice. We'll practice in private, and we won't move on at all until _you_ decide that you're ready. _If _you decide it at all, because seriously, if you feel overwhelmed at any point, we can call this off, no questions asked. Promise."

Ava smiled, both shyly and gratefully. "I really appreciate your help and support. I'm sor-"

"Don't you _dare_ apologize for your perfectly valid emotions, okay?" Sara cut her off with a raise of her hand. It wasn't until she raised her hand that Ava realized that her own hands had been entwined with Sara's, in a gesture of support and comfort. And it was comforting, and her skin seemed to remember the feeling of Sara's skin on her own, as the sensation of her touched lingered gently, brushing over her knuckles like a soft summer evening breeze.

Ava nodded, again grateful. "Who knew Sara Lance was such a softie," she teased gently, bumping Sara's shoulder with her own.

Sara grinned back. "Hey, seduction requires a light touch," she teased back. "And consent. Can't seduce someone without consent, you know. So I need to make sure you're on board with this, every step of the way." Sara paused a moment, a cheeky smile gracing her features. "And trust me, you're going to enjoy this. Say what you will about Sara Lance, but I am definitely no slouch when it comes to providing a pleasurable dating experience." Sara accentuated her point with a dramatic wink, which made Ava blush and chuckle, admittedly less nervous, but still a little anxious nonetheless.

_She's got so much experience… I only dated Jess for a few months before she started going out with Lena's friend, James. What if I make a fool of myself? Maybe this is all a mistake after all_, Ava's mind raced. But then Sara stood and stretched, and when she looked back at Ava, Ava became lost in those sapphire pools of light and mischief.

There was just something so… alluring in Sara's eyes. On the one hand, they were kind, caring, and concerned. Sara was known to be fiercely loyal; once you were a part of her pack, she was a friend for life. On the other hand, there was something in her eyes that put Ava on edge. Not in a bad way, per se, but it was still enough to make her nervous. There was something sly and jesting in those eyes, but it was a flimsy layer, almost as if hiding a completely different side to Sara, one that nobody seemed to see, or at least that Sara refused to reveal to anyone. She was guarded, in a word, and had walls that Ava, while she respected Sara's boundaries, just longed to tear down and reveal the depths behind them.

Sara cleared her throat, her eyebrows lowered in worry. Ava had been staring into her eyes for a weirdly long amount of time. Not that Sara had minded. Ava's eyes were like a snowglobe; icy blue, but with flecks of shimmering silver that resembled snowflakes, spinning and swirling about magesticly, with new layers and depths being constantly discovered as the flakes continued to swirl. Her eyes were captivating, drawing Sara in so far she may just drown, and Sara couldn't seem to find it in herself in that moment to even attempt to swim, so intoxicating was the journey she was taking through the most gorgeous eyes she'd ever beheld. But then she'd gone and blinked, and noticed the time, and cleared her throat like an idiot, when she'd been perfectly content to continue slipping below the surface of those reflective pools staring back at her.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey guys, sorry for the late update. I know it's been a few months since I last updated this story. The reason for this is that my laptop (among various other personal and work items) was stolen when my car was broken into in June ago, and I have been unable to update as my replacement laptop then broke down. I'm currently using a very slow laptop from 2013 while I await repairs.

Additionally, my new job has weird hours and is really tiring (both physically and mentally; I can't tell you how many times I got home and just passed out on my sofa), and I have just started classes again, so I don't know how much I'll be able to update even now. It will likely be late September before I am able to update as frequently as I was before the summer began.

Thank you so much for your reviews and for your patience and understanding during this time. I really appreciate your support. And now, without further adieu, I give you the next chapter.

* * *

Ava was snapped back to reality when Sara cleared her throat. Her blush deepened, and she abruptly stood, averting her gaze to the floor just behind Sara. She announced that it was late, and that she was retiring for the night. Upon her use of the word 'retiring', Sara chuckled and shook her head good-naturedly, before standing aside to let Ava past. She watched as Ava, eyes trained resolutely to the floor in front of her feet, marched stiffly up the stairs and into her bedroom, not daring to stop and look back at Sara.

Sara let out a (dreamy, though she'd never admit it) sigh, and flopped onto the couch. _It's only for a few months, and only to piss off her family. Soon it'll be over, and maybe then I'll stop having feelings,_ Sara reasoned with herself. _Emotions suck_.

Ray pulled Nora through down some stairs and through corridor after winding corridor, until finally stopping in front of a… blank wall?

Nora let go of Ray's hand as he started to pace back and forth in front of the wall, his brow furrowed deep in thought. "Uh, Ray?" The man in question made a noncommittal noise, still pacing and concentrating. "What are you doing? Is this a prank? I swear if one of your friends pops out of one of those cupboards and hits me with some kind of jinx or confetti or something, I will kill you, then them, and then you again," Nora threatened.

Ray snorted, and finally stopped pacing, coming to stop in front of Nora. He took her shoulders, holding her in place as he circled behind her. "Just watch," he chuckled lowly in her ear, making the hair on the back of Nora's neck stand on end and causing her to lightly shiver.

She kept her eyes planted firmly on the wall ahead of her, heeding Ray's words, though still skeptical. That skepticism melted away when the wall began to change into a massive set of double doors, stretching from the floor to the tall ceiling in the large corridor. Nora turned to Ray, her mouth agape in shock. He just chuckled and took her hand again, leading her into the room as he pushed open the door, closing it firmly behind it.

Nora moved to the center of the room, turning slowly as she took everything in. There were several wardrobes, open to reveal different colors of dresses and armor and tunics, the fabrics ranging in color from grey to gold to royal purple. Next to each wardrobe was a manakin sporting distinct styles, as well as a large cabinet with accessories draped on hooks along the edges. In the back corners of the room were changing screens, already draped with swatches of fabrics to showcase both material and color. Nora ventured behind one of the screens to discover three full-length mirrors, so that she could view the clothing from multiple angles.

She exited the screened-area and turned back to Ray. "Is this the Room of Requirement?"

Ray looked puzzled. "How'd you know?"

"I've read about it in some books about Hogwarts and some novels about various students' adventures here, but the books never mentioned where it was."

Ray beamed proudly. "Yeah, Rip showed it to us a long time ago. He and Kendra and Carter used to hang out here, and when they brought Sara and Mick and I into the fold, they showed it to us. We - meaning the Legends plus Charlie and Gideon - have been using it as a hangout ever since."

"Am I to assume that 'hanging out' means meeting up after hours, and probably drinking? Why Raymond, you're a prefect, how could you be so irresponsible?" Nora put on a mock-scandalized voice, touching her hand to her heart dramatically, but letting a smirk slip through.

"I'm irresponsible, huh? What about Sara? She's head girl!" Ray protested. "Besides, it just solidifies my position as a bad boy."

Nora snorted and began laughing hysterically. Before long she was hunched over, still laughing to the point of tears.

"What?" Ray asked indignantly.

When Nora could breathe again (and could speak through the stitch in her ribs), she reached up to place a comforting hand on Ray's shoulder. "Raymond Palmer, you literally still have your shirt tucked in and your tie still done, and it is long after uniform hours. Merlin knows you have never in your life been a 'bad boy'."

Ray blushed, hands making their way into his pockets as his shoulders raised in embarrassment. He chuckled nervously, "Yeah, you're right."

Standing there, looking nervous and blushing, Nora thought he'd never looked cuter. She couldn't resist standing on her toes (and yanking him down by his shoulder to get him closer to her height - Merlin's beard he was tall) to press a chaste kiss to his cheek. Of course, this caused his blush to deepen, and Nora couldn't hold back her giggle (which she would deny that's what it was for the rest of her days).

"S-so," Ray stuttered out as he clapped his hands together once Nora had stepped back. "let's get to it. I still need to work out my costume too, so why don't we look around and we can show each other each item once we've got it on?"

Nora chewed at her bottom lip (which Ray definitely wasn't staring at, absolutely not) in thought, before amending Ray's statement. "Why don't we not show each other? Make it a surprise?"

Ray's face lit up. "Yeah, that sounds great! But, uh, one problem: what if we need help fastening or getting the clothes on?"

Nora cocked an eyebrow and pulled out her wand, twirling it between her fingers. Ray blushed yet again. "Oh, yeah. Magic, duh!"

So Ray went to go and look at the armor, and Nora began perusing the dresses. She picked up a light blue number, before her gaze was drawn away from it by a deep red with a… more daring neckline than she'd done before. She grinned wickedly before plucking it off the rack.

_Perfect_, she thought. _He won't be able to take his eyes off me._


End file.
